Contemporary Texts Research Articles

Metallic Mode: Exploring African Speculative Fiction through the Affordances of Metal

ABSTRACT: African sf occupies a particularly interesting interstitial space, blurring lines between science fiction and the fantastical. The literature defies easy categorization. This paper looks at the associations between metal and Africa to explore such defiance and to develop the idea that African sf can be called a "metallic mode." I explore the affordances of metal in two contemporary texts: Namwali Serpell's The Old Drift (2019) and Andrew Miller's Dub Steps (2015). Informed by Caroline Levine's work on form and its affordances , I examine the potential we might find in the properties of metal to think and speak about African sf. The paper ultimately looks at how the literature communicates through metallic historicity, malleability, ductility, non-linearity, recyclability, conductivity, and technological capability to cast African sf as a complex mode that forges a space of its own in the broader terrain of sf.

The Respiratory Reflex of Cough: A Comparative Study of Contemporary Medicine and Unani Concepts

Cough suddenly and frequently helps to remove mucus, irritants, foreign substances, and bacteria from the airways. It can be a symptom of a respiratory infection like the common cold, bronchitis, tuberculosis, influenza, smoking, or other health issues. Contemporary texts describe several kinds of coughs, including acute, chronic, and subacute coughs, coughs that produce or do not produce mucus, and specific types like Reflex cough, voluntary cough, and evoked cough. In Unani texts, cough is referred to as diseases rather than symptoms. it is also called as “Sual” in Arabic, “Surfa” in Persian, khansi in Hindi, and cough in English. In Unani medicine, Sual is attributed to three causes: Ashab-e-badiya (extrinsic factor), Asbab-i- Wassila (intrinsic factor), and Iltehab (inflammation). The primary categories of Sual identified in Unani texts are Sual yabis and Sual Ratab, which are further subdivided into various types. This paper examines the concept, causes, types, and treatment approaches to Sual/Cough as described in both classical and modern literature. Keywords: Cough, Sual, Surfa, Modern concept Unani literature, sual yabis, sual ratab.

Homonymy in the Persian Word dast

Abstract Proto-Indo-Iranian is envisaged to have had the form *jhasta denoting hand and the root *dans meaning to become skillful, to instruct, to teach. Previous studies have shown that these two forms have surfaced as homophones (both in the form of dast) during the Middle Iranian period, each with distinct meanings during that time. In this article, the authors have tried to explore the semantics of dast in Contemporary Persian through a meticulous examination of classical and contemporary texts. This analysis revealed that Contemporary Persian dast is a case of homonymy, with meanings clustered around two core concepts: hand and skill, power, probability. The article proposes that these dual core meanings may have originated from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dans and *ȷ́ʰasta, two semantically distinct elements, giving rise to an instance of homonymity through historical phonological processes.

„Schmerzlos sind wir und haben fast | Die Sprache in der Fremde verloren“ Hölderlin über Heimat und Heimatlosigkeit

Recent research has rightly emphasized the extent to which Hölderlin’s poetry opens up broad horizons of transcultural perspectives with a thoroughly cosmopolitan intention. However, these great drafts of ‘transtopias’ remain in the realm of speculative idealism, as long as one ignores the counterpoint that Hölderlin sets up with his contemporaneous texts about the experience of extreme individual danger and distress. Only against this background of struggle for self-preservation in hard and “godforsaken” times, Hölderlin’s ingenious, still hopeful rather than deconstructive intuitions gain real credibility and relevance.

Pliable facts and rigorous fictions: the cognitive persuasions of contemporary Latin American science fiction

ABSTRACT According to literary critic Darko Suvin, science fiction demonstrates a “supposedly factual” approach to imagining new worlds. In Latin America, however, the factual basis of lived experience from which such fictions are crafted has not always been taken as a given. This essay shows how contemporary Latin American science fiction makes use of the tensions derived from the encounter between the pliable nature of fact and the supposed rigor of cognitive logic through an analysis of two contemporary texts from the Hispanophone Caribbean: Puerto Rican writer Pedro Cabiya’s (1971) novel Malas hierbas (2010) and Cuban director Arturo Infante’s (1977) film El viaje extraordinario de Celeste García (2018). A fragmented zombie tale whose narrator may or may not be a zombie, Malas hierbas explores the science of zombification even as it draws upon both folklore and the corpus of zombie literature and film. El viaje extraordinario engages the genre conventions of romantic comedy and the Cuban emigration film, using the familiar landscape of these genres in the story of a group of Cubans who are invited to visit a distant planet. Cabiya’s and Infante’s texts keep the reader or spectator suspended in the liminal zone where truth is an open-ended series of multiple possibilities. As they reveal the constructed nature of facts and the narratives that support them, these texts illuminate the ways in which the possibilities around us are already the work of constructed fictions.

Putting the Mockers On: The Rutles, The Beatles, Rock Biopics and Parody

Many accounts of film genre reiterate a familiar narrative of growth to “classic” maturity and subsequent parody and/or deconstruction, and the biopic is no exception. However, rock music biopics have reversed this narrative, so that the genre begins in parody and only gets serious later. This is partly because rock and roll music began as parody, mainly by white people imitating African Americans, what is known as blackface minstrelsy, in which music and humour are necessarily (because of racism) mixed. In turn, the 60s rock counterculture took many of its cues from this untimely birth, appropriating African-American marginality in modes that were at once serious (concerns about authenticity) and ironic (mockery of Establishment values). This collision of opposites helps explain both the counterculture’s preference for documentary, especially of live performance, over Hollywood fiction, and its predilection for mockery of both (for example, mockumentary). As the single most influential proto-rock act, whose inventive wit and comic antics, rendered in newsreel, direct cinema, cartoon, and on record, were keys to their commercial and critical success, The Beatles were the perfect subjects for such ironic canonisation. Their filmic career highlights the intersection of documentary and comedy, as well as reality and fiction, via musical performance, a mode which can problematise documentary/comedy, and reality/fiction distinctions. In line with this argument, I have focused on key live performances from the Beatles’ career, and how they are parodied in The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978) henceforth The Rutles, which doubles as the first filmic biography of the Beatles and the first rock mockumentary. The Beatles’ later career saw their public image shift from intentional to unintentional comedy, a shift mapped in the The Rutles, which gradually moves from parody towards satire. It is argued that The Rutles is open to a range of audience identifications and readings: it is at once a text for “true fans”, a playful deconstruction of their investments, but also one with real-world reverberations (some of its predictions came true). In this sense, it is a “media savvy”, peculiarly contemporary text that questions the priority of reality over fiction.

The Dark Lady’s survival in contemporary Black women’s writing

ABSTRACT This article discusses contemporary literary texts that feature the Dark Lady from Shakespeare’s sonnets as a Black woman from the past inhabiting the present: Zadie Smith’s White Teeth (2000), Bernadine Evaristo’s Soul Tourists (2005), and Caroline Randall Williams’s Lucy Negro, Redux (2019). The analysis draws on recent approaches to temporality that offer a critique of linear concepts of time and their function for discourses of progress and modernity as well as ‘race’. Through the figure of the Dark Lady, Smith, Evaristo, and Williams address Black history and project anachronic relations between the early modern era and the present moment, as well as between Shakespeare and the contemporary Black woman writer.

INDIVIDUAL PECULIARITIES OF THE SPEECH BEHAVIOR OF A FEMALE REBEL IN TAMARA HORIKHA ZERNYA’S NOVEL "DAUGHTER"

Rebellion as a form of deviant behavior has been studied by psychologists, sociologists, literary critics and linguists. In linguistics, this type of behavior (speech behavior in particular) can be studied through the lens of various fields of knowledge — linguistic personology, pragmatics, gender linguistics, psycholinguistics, etc. This study is an attempt to analyze rebellion as a peculiar type of personal behavior at different levels: verbal and action, which was expressed in specific words, phrases and actions. The relevance of the chosen topic lies in the fact that, firstly, rebellion is described within the framework of psycholinguistics, taking into account the archetypes identified by Carl Jung on the basis of the novel "Daughter" by Tamara Horikha Zernya about the war that began in 2014; secondly, the dynamics of rebellion in all its manifestations is observed: in the speech behavior and in the specific actions of a young woman who consciously resists in the occupied territory of Donetsk. The purpose of the study is to analyze the manifestations of a woman’s individual rebellion expressed by linguistic means in different communicative situations and in the process of auto-communication. The object of the research was the protagonist’s dialogues and monologues in the process of the occupiers’ military actions. The subject of the study is the linguistic means of expressing the increasing level of rebellion in a woman’s mental state as a counteraction to enemies. The research material is the text of the fictional work of the documentary book "Daughter". In the process of analysis, the following methods were used: analysis, synthesis, descriptive method, inductive method, as well as the method of psycholinguistic and contextual-interpretive analysis. The Daughter experiences different mental states, as evidenced by her speech. During peaceful times, she does not use rude words. With the enemies, she switches to the language of the occupiers, puts on different masks: a frightened girl, a grown woman and a sister who rejoices in the "liberators" as well as a brave fighter etc. The prospect for further research lies in the analysis of contemporary texts about the war, which describe the rebellion of Ukrainian heroes.

Abortion in Islam: A Fiqh Examination of Medical and Social Indications

This article aims to explore how principles of Islamic fiqh can be integrated with modern medical approaches in addressing abortion, particularly in countries with significant Muslim populations. Given the high rates of unwanted pregnancies and the grave consequences of unsafe abortions, this research is imperative to enhance understanding of the diverse fiqh perspectives regarding medical and social justifications for abortion. The methodology employed is a phenomenological qualitative approach with a constructivist paradigm, emphasising a deep comprehension of the subjective experiences and viewpoints of Islamic scholars. Data was collected through extensive literature review, including classical and contemporary fiqh texts as well as academic literature related to medical ethics in Islam. The findings reveal various interpretations of Quranic verses relevant to abortion, underscoring the importance of preserving life and human dignity. Within the context of Maqasid Shariah, it was found that abortion could be permitted in situations meeting the criteria of Darura, where the preservation of the mother's life is the paramount concern. Social phenomena related to abortion were also examined, highlighting the stigma and social consequences faced by women in Muslim communities who undergo or consider abortion. The discussion in this article includes the integration of religious law and medical practice, and the need for greater education and awareness about reproductive health within Muslim communities. This allows the research to provide clear guidelines that not only assist healthcare practitioners in making ethical decisions but also support the creation of more effective and empathetic policies that consider the health and well-being of women within a framework of human rights and social justice.

A Semitic Fingerprint on Mark and Revelation

Abstract This article examines the unique syntax found in the Greek texts of Mark and Revelation. Both books exhibit a distinct propensity to begin sentences with the conjunction καί, a linguistic phenomenon known as “parataxis.” A comparative analysis is conducted on a large swath of contemporary Greek narrative texts in an effort to locate where Mark and Revelation fall along the paratactic spectrum. The analysis draws on comparative linguistics and statistical analysis to argue that this paratactic style is a Semitic linguistic fingerprint, aligning more closely with the LXX and other early Jewish and Christian (EJC) texts but differs from pagan Greek narratives of the same era. The article concludes by summarizing how scholars have accounted for this Semitic fingerprint and what some implications might be.

The Mediation of Critical Themes of Motherhood Studies in Storytelling: The Case of The Girl Who Drank the Moon

By contemplating the emotional and intellectual link between the reader and the book, this article considers how a contemporary text might respond to current motherhood studies’ issues, and how these studies are mediated to be considered appropriate for an audience of young readers. A psychosocial research strategy is used, through a feminist theoretical framework, to analyze how the young adult novel The Girl Who Drank the Moon incorporates key ideas of motherhood studies through characters’ agency and the storytelling arch. Motherhood is represented as an institution, an individual identity and an emotional experience, and the novel offers the young reader a nuanced vision into an ongoing discussion. The potential of storytelling to mediate social justice concerns to the young reader is highlighted.

EKPHRASIS IN LITERARY ENGLISH DISCOURSE

The article systematises the experience of researchers of the concept of ekphrasis, reveals its significance and role in literary English discourse. The main focus is on analysing the definition of ekphrasis, identifying its functions in literature and art, historical foundations of the term, and the given classification of ekphrasis. The definitions offered by researchers in this field, their contributions and developments in the understanding of ekphrasis are considered. The article is based on the research of leading scholars such as J. Heffernan, P. Wagner, W. Mitchell, D. Carrier, G. Scott and others, analysing various definitions of ekphrasis, its evolution and importance in literary discourse. Future research prospects in this area include a deeper analysis of ekphrastic phenomena in contemporary literary texts. The article reflects the relevance and prospects of ekphrasis research, expanding the understanding of this phenomenon in the context of intermediality, the interaction between literature and visual art.

Echoes of Culture: Relationships of Implicit and Explicit Attitudes With Contemporary English, Historical English, and 53 Non-English Languages

Attitudes are intertwined with culture and language. But to what extent? Emerging perspectives in attitude research suggest that cultural representations in language are more related to implicitly measured (vs. explicitly measured) attitudes, and that such relationships persist across history and diverse languages. We offer a comprehensive test of these ideas by correlating (a) attitudes toward 55 topics (e.g., Rich/Poor, Dogs/Cats, Love/Money) from ~100,000 U.S. English-speaking participants with (b) representations of those same topics in word embeddings from contemporary English text, 200 years of English books, and 53 non-English languages. Strong and robust relationships emerged between representations in contemporary English and implicitly but not explicitly measured attitudes. Moreover, strong correlations with implicitly measured attitudes persisted across 200 years of books, and most non-English languages. Results provide new insights into the nature of implicitly measured attitudes and how they are intertwined with cultural representations that are relatively hidden in patterns of language across time and place.

Food and women’s bodies in Anglophone feminist critical dystopias: from text to context following the pattern of the “hyper-materialization”

Food is a theme of crucial importance in contemporary feminist critical dystopias, functioning as a symbol of both household hierarchization and market dynamics of production and consumption. As such, food can be a useful interpretative key to connect dystopian fiction to the state of the world outside the literary text. In order to explore this connection, I will argue that food is exploited by dystopian systems of organization through a process which I term “hyper-materialization”: reducing women to their (re)productive roles through both a metaphorical and a concrete association with food, women’s agency is stifled and their productivity is maximized. Following these premises, many of the potentially positive endings characterizing the genre can be framed as a recovery of food’s immaterial dimensions of desire, pleasure and affection. It will be argued that these can be interpreted as the analytical way out of the dystopian novel, compelling readers to bring such resistant practices into their material and situated contexts. To demonstrate the diachronic permanence of this pattern across geographic divides, my analysis will consider The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985) along with two contemporary texts from the United Kingdom: Sweet Fruit, Sour Land (Rebecca Ley, 2018) and The Water Cure (Sophie Mackintosh, 2018).

Development-induced dispossession: Adivasi existence in the milieu of contemporary Indian texts in translation

The paradigms of development around the globe involves mechanisms associated with its social purpose, which is more often than not dubious in nature! Natural resources form the fundamental aspect of any developmental activity. But in the process of accumulating these resources, the beneficiaries often rely on malignant mechanisms. The capitalist discourse has always been successful in manifesting their agendas of development as constructive and profitable for the entire humanity. Periodically, when the utility of development is foregrounded by dominant cultural forms, often the ramifications of progress remain uncritiqued. The developmental projects earmarked for the rural population remain unnoticed, for it serves the interest of the elite and the urban middle class. Many a time, the indigenous population, who inhabit the resource rich area are swayed away by the false propaganda for development, ultimately aggravating their existing deprivation. In the case of India, too, amidst all the development activities, the marginalized populace or the so-called Adivasis are the worst sufferers, because they have been encountering displacement for ages. The current study attempts to unveil the displacement of the tribal population (Adivasi) of India due to development projects, thereby offering a critical analysis of the social policies. The study employs select translated literary narratives to examine the development-induced dispossession of tribal population in the colonial, postcolonial and neo-liberal phase of Indian history, adopting the theoretical framework of new historicism.

Inheritance and Recreation: The Transformation of Literary Paradigms in Fan Hua’s Shanghai Urban Narrative

The developmental history of literature revolves around a continuous process of retrospection and breakthroughs regarding literary context through “inheritance” and “recreation.” Since the May Fourth Movement, new literature has flowed and transformed between established literary paradigms. Shanghai’s urban narrative, as one of the most vibrant literary contexts, exemplifies a creative stance that is both traditional and pioneering, which is reflected in its century-long literary evolution. This paper aims to select the representative Shanghai urban narrative text of the twenty-first century, Fan Hua, to explore the transformation of literary “paradigm” in contemporary literature from two dimensions: inheritance and innovation. The representative contemporary text of Shanghai’s urban narrative, Fan Hua, surrounds two key elements, investigating its relationship with ancient texts and new-style novels, showcasing the perseverance and evolution of the literary soul and spirit over time after enduring the vicissitudes of classical paradigms.

Neutraceutical and Pharmaceutical Potential of Fagopyrum esculentum (Linn.) Moench.

Buckwheat is a gluten-free pseudocereal grown annually in hilly regions of India. It belongs to family Polygonaceae and genus Fagopyrum. Buckwheat is adaptable to extreme cold temperature, stress conditions of water making it a sustainable crop. In India, twenty species of buckwheat are cultivated across various hilly regions. Out of these only nine species have desirable nutritional value and two are commonly grown. They are Fagopyrum esculentum (Common buckwheat) and Fagopyrum tartaricum (Tartary buckwheat). Buckwheat has good amount of nutrients and many health benefits. Buckwheat has been used in the gluten free diet for those suffering from celiac disease. It can be used for the prevention of obesity and diabetes as they have high total dietary fibre and soluble dietary fibre. It is commonly used grain in the name of Kuttu in Indian society during fasting. The present study aims at establishing the Neutraceutical and Pharmaceutical utility of potential alternative to conventional food grains as mentioned in the contemporary texts.

A comprehensive drug review of Mushikavishari Agada on Mushika Visha as Vishagna

Introduction: Mushika Visha is categorized under Jangama Visha, which is also known as Akhu Visha. Teeth bites, scratches caused by sharp nails, urine and semen all have toxic effects on the body and can cause symptoms. There are two types of symptoms, Curable and Incurable. There are many ways to treat Mushika Visha, with numerous combinations and single drugs. Materials and Method: A literary review to know the action of Mushikavishari Agada in Mushika Visha from contemporary texts. Observation: Considering twenty six drugs with its Rasa, Guna, Veerya, Vipaka, Karma and Doshagnata literature proves that individual drugs mentioned in this Mushikavishari Agada[4] formulation can be used in condition such as Pandu (Anaemia), Jwara (Fever), Daha (Burning sensation), Aruchi (Anorexia) and acts as Vishagna (Anti-poisonous). Result: By literary review it can be inferred that formulation Mushikavishari Agada consisting twenty-six drugs can counter the spread the toxin thus negating symptoms of Mushika Visha mentioned by Acharya Caraka. Conclusion: A literary review conclude that the formulation Mushikavishari Agada mentioned in Sushrutha Samhitha Kalpa Sthana can subside Mushika Visha and acts as Vishagna.

Plague and the Mongol conquest of Baghdad (1258)? A reevaluation of the sources.

This paper reexamines the sources used by N. Fancy and M.H. Green in "Plague and the Fall of Baghdad (1258)" (Medical History, 65/2 (2021), 157-177). Fancy and Green argued that the Arabic and Persian descriptions of the Mongol sieges in Iran and Iraq, and in particular, in the conquest of Baghdad in 1258, indicate that the besieged fortresses and cities were struck by Plague after the Mongol sieges were lifted. This, they suggested, is part of a recurrent pattern of the outbreak of Plague transmitted by the Mongol expansion across Eurasia. Fancy and Green concluded that the primary sources substantiate the theory driven by recent paleogenetic studies indicating that the Mongol conquests of the thirteenth century set the stage for the massive pandemic of the mid-fourteenth century. The link between the Plague outbreak and the Mongol siege of Baghdad relies on three near-contemporaneous historical accounts. However, our re-examination of the sources shows that the main text (in Persian) has been significantly misunderstood, and that the two other texts (in Syriac and Arabic) have been mis-contextualized, and thus not understood properly. They do not support the authors' claim regarding Plague epidemic in Baghdad in 1258, nor do other contemporary and later Arabic texts from Syria and Egypt adduced by them, which we re-examine in detail here. We conclude that there is no evidence for the appearance of Plague during or immediately after the Mongol conquests in the Middle East, certainly not for its transmission by the Mongols.

Mapping Quranic Exegesis in West Java: Influential Figures and Linguistic Insights

This article delves into an exploration of Tafsir Al-Quran works by influential scholars from the West of Java. Unlike traditional geographic delineations, this study does not restrict its focus to the administrative boundaries of West Java as a province but extends to broader regions in the western part of the island. The investigation employs a qualitative research methodology, primarily engaging in library research which involves the comprehensive collection and analysis of data from authoritative books on the subject. Moreover, the study is enriched by a manuscript study approach, where ancient and contemporary Tafsir texts authored by scholars from this region are examined in detail. Through this meticulous research, the study has uncovered numerous Tafsir works, each bearing the unique interpretative style of its author. The findings highlight the intellectual and theological contributions of these scholars, emphasizing the diversity and richness of Islamic scholarship in western Java. One of the distinctive features of these Tafsir works is their linguistic variety. The texts are found in Arabic, which is widely used in Islamic scholarly writings, as well as in Sundanese and Indonesian, which reflects the local linguistic and cultural integration into Islamic scholarship.The study not only sheds light on the specific Tafsir works and the scholars behind them but also paints a broader picture of the religious and cultural landscape in western Java. This approach provides valuable insights into how regional characteristics influence religious interpretation and contribute to the broader discourse in Islamic studies. The research is pivotal for scholars interested in regional Islamic studies, comparative religion, and the interplay between language, culture, and religious scholarship.