Formalistic Approach Research Articles

What the Warhol Court Got Wrong: Use as an Artist Reference and the Derivative Work Doctrine

In Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith, the Supreme Court conflated “use as an artist reference” with preparing a “derivative work.” It did so on the erroneous assumption that permission to use a copyrighted work as an artist reference is a license to prepare a derivative work. But copyright law does not necessarily deem all uses of references for making new art to be the preparation of a derivative work. In other words, not all adaptations of an original work are infringing. Some may be neither derivative works nor substantially similar copies, and some may be subject to the exceptions and limitations in the statute, such as fair use. Examining longstanding artistic practices, case law, and our recent study of professional photographers, this Article develops a more nuanced view of the relationship between the artist reference and the derivative work. Drawing on this evidence, we argue that courts should explicitly engage with the characteristics and context of the reference and the new work before arriving at a determination of infringement or noninfringement between the two works. This reasoning applies equally whether the use of an artist reference is initially licensed or unlicensed by a second artist. When expressly authorized, artist references are simply permissions to use—a ticket to entry, permission for access to the work in its tangible and intangible forms. And, importantly, they are just the beginning of an artistic process. What the new author produces based on the artist reference makes all the difference, and legal liability should depend on aesthetic evaluation of both the referenced work and the new work. Avoiding that aesthetic evaluation and misconstruing an agreement to “use as an artist reference” as a license to prepare a derivative work, which the Supreme Court did in its formalistic approach in Warhol, is a shortcut that distorts copyright law and harms creative practice.

Critiques of learner-centered teaching

The discourse surrounding learner-centered teaching has been a focal point since the 1980s, with particular intensity during the 1990s. Following this period, dissent emerged from some educational theorists who criticized learner-centered teaching from various angles. One faction argued that learner-centered teaching disproportionately emphasizes the learner, thereby diminishing the role of the teacher, while another group contended that the model's focus on the learner's interests and needs comes at the expense of the content's importance. Many educators advocate for a teacher-centered, formalistic approach, positing that it is more effective in environments where resources are ample and the professional capabilities of teachers are exceptionally high. These divergent viewpoints have led to significant uncertainty among policymakers, curriculum developers, and educators regarding the implementation of educational strategies. Consequently, the ambiguity surrounding learner-centered teaching poses substantial challenges in its practical application within the classroom setting. Thus, how can these contradictions in the curriculum be effectively resolved? How can a lay parent, who may struggle to grasp these conflicting viewpoints, actively engage in their child's education? Additionally, how can a primary school teacher, who may lack sufficient qualifications, comprehend these concepts and deliver instruction effectively? It is urgent solve these problems. Therefore, the major intention of the present study is to revisit these major criticisms associated with learner-centered teaching. This study entirely based on the analysis and examination of the existing literature. This study has focused on nine criticisms of learner centered teaching to examine its deficiencies and weaknesses. These nine criticisms are- extreme contradiction in ideologies; legitimacy of learner centred teaching; more emphasis on the need, interest, freedom of learner; excessive attention on the learner; developmentally appropriate practice; practicality of learner centered teaching; individual and society; teacher's roles and responsibilities; and natural sequence of child development. An effort has been made to delve deeply into each criticism to reveal its underlying reality. The study concludes that while learner centered teaching is appealing in theory, its implementation is notably challenging. This difficulty is particularly pronounced in both developed and developing countries where there is a significant lack of resources and infrastructure, making the adoption of this pedagogy quite arduous.

A formalist in the trenches: Graham K. Riach’s The Short Story After Apartheid

This essay offers a brief assessment of the potential of a formalist approach to the criticism of South African literature. Examining Graham K. Riach’s recent study The Short Story After Apartheid, it suggests that the “New Formalism” Riach employs provides an innovative mode of criticism that sees the literary text as interactive with its context rather than as a space of passive representation. Viewing the literary text as a spur to insight allows for a creative engagement with and vivification of many of the sedimented categories of South African critical thought. The essay expresses misgivings, however, about, first, the possibility of harnessing this mode of reading to a determinate political end, and second, its general bias toward the conceptual aspects of literary experience over and against the affective.

Plotting the Geopolitics of Twentieth-Century Modern and Avant-Garde Illustrated Periodicals

Illustrated journals are available digitally in unprecedented quantities, and on a global scale. As such, they provide the ideal foundation to examine globalization logics in the history of art and literature through the prism of ‘distant reading and viewing’. When articulated and completed by more traditional close reading of the sources, a computational approach can raise new questions about the international circulation of images in illustrated periodicals. It may help to reinterpret, and even better understand, the variety of flows and imbalances in the international circulation of images, that are often taken too quickly as evidence of centrality or peripherality. This paper presents the perspectives opened by the Visual Contagions project (SNSF, University of Geneva, CH), which analyses images from thousands of illustrated periodicals published worldwide from the 1890s to the 1990s. Images do not magically circulate, nor do styles ‘diffuse’ and provide evidence of ‘influences’, as it is often assumed. The computational approach is used to analyse avant-garde periodicals, and it allowed us to highlight networks of image exchange, affinities between magazines, countries, and cultural or social milieus. Such methodologies emphasize the social logics that promoted the circulation of images and styles, and unveil the authorial or distributive role of some key publications in the avant-garde; but they also reveal and help understand image diffusions that were previously difficult to explain other than by a Zeitgeist, by the notion of centres and peripheries, or by a formalist approach that consolidated the non-questioned domination of European canons.

Pre-Trial Detention Challenges in Sweden and Ukraine

Abstract This article conducts a comparative analysis of pre-trial detention challenges in Ukraine and Sweden, highlighting common issues and distinctive features. Both countries face non-compliance with international standards in their remand policies, with legislative problems serving as a focal point. Recent legislative efforts in Ukraine and Sweden have addressed some issues, but significant challenges persist, requiring comprehensive solutions. The legislative disparities between the two nations manifest in the technical nature of Ukraine’s problems and Sweden’s more systemic issues. A unique challenge faced solely by Sweden is the disproportionately high number of foreigners in pre-trial detention, highlighting discriminatory legal regulations. Procedural hurdles vary, with Sweden grappling with the lack of specificity in prosecutors’ grounds for restrictions, while Ukraine faces a formalistic approach to remand extensions. Long-term pre-trial detention is identified as a shared concern, attributed to systemic principles in Sweden and technical procedure problems.

The evolution of the debt—equity doctrine in the light of financial instruments’ digitalization

The article outlines the basics for using the debt—equity dichotomy in the financial instruments typology and analyzes the contradictions and short-comings of the existing approach to classification. It is shown that the “trap” of the debt—equity dichotomy comes from the path dependence process, mainly formed by the inertia of the tax system. It is noted that the applying of the debt—equity dichotomy entails a formalist approach to classification, which does not bring closer to the clarity of the delimitation of contracts according to the criteria of risk and reward distribution, and restrictions on post-contractual opportunism. Arguments are given to explain why the foundations of the debt— equity doctrine may be weakened in relation to crypto assets. This is supported by the fact that the genesis of digital assets occurs in a specific technological context, which determines its own criteria and framework for the typology of instruments. Another set of arguments comes from the fact that the world of crypto assets appears to be coherent with the specific environment of venture capital investment. This environment, in turn, arouses the demand for overcoming the debt—equity dichotomy to implement the tasks of risky investors and structuring the relations of the parties involved in projects. This demand has now led to the emergence of a number of instruments that cannot be classified as either debt or equity, including those using the construct of tokens or contractual agreements used by crowdfunding platforms. Overall, the intellectual effort that previously satisfactorily explained companies’ choices of financing styles and modes is now insufficient to reconcile capital structure theories with the practice of digital asset financing.

Towards a new formalist approach to short fiction: Janice Galloway’s Jellyfish as a case study

This article investigates the usefulness of new formalist terminology for the study of integrated short fiction volumes. It adopts a case-study design: I take Janice Galloway’s short story composite Jellyfish ([2015] 2019) as an example because the author experiments with new ways of writing, arranging and presenting short fiction in this volume. I explore how Caroline Levine’s broad understanding of two forms (networks and rhythms) and their affordances can be brought together with different positions in short story criticism. Particular consideration shall be given to Rolf Lundén’s conceptualization of the characteristic tension between the short story composite as a whole and its component parts. In short, the article analyses the complex networks and rhythms which give structure to Jellyfish.

A Formalist Approach to Religious Imagery in <em>The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe</em> by C. S. Lewis

One of the most popular novels written for children is The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis (2005). However, this novel is controversial amongst critics because it contains religious symbols. This research argues that The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe has its way of presenting religious symbols implicitly therefore children can enjoy reading it. Thus, this research aims to examine the effective presentation of religious symbols in the novel. This research uses the Formalism approach. To support the analysis, the researcher uses library research as the method with the religious symbols found in the novel as the primary data and the books and journals written by experts as the secondary data. The result of this research is The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe presented religious symbols through the characters of children, role models, central subjects and important events of the story of the novel.

Speech Melody Research as the Interdisciplinary Foundation of the Petrograd Institute of the Living Word

The assumption of similarity between artistic speech melody and music was deeply rooted in Russian Symbolism and based on the culturally established analogy between poetry/lyrical prosody and music. This connection was the basis for a wide range of performative practices focused on performed word such as the experiments of director Vsevolod Meyerhold and composer Mikhail Gnesin in Petrograd theater studios in 1900–1910s, and the collective declamation of Vasilii Serezhnikov and Vsevolod Vsevolodskii-Gerngross. However, after the October revolution, this analogy not only inspired new artistic paths, but also new approaches in humanities. This article explores the correlation between a practice-based strategy and advanced theory that characterized the structure and curricula of the Petrograd Institute of the Living Word (Institut zhivogo slova; 1918–1924). Its specific institutional features affected the development of disciplines in the fields of linguistics, poetics, and literary studies. The earlier period of its work (1918–1921) was defined by the search for common ground, which could unite representatives of different disciplines. The study of the melody of speech, which this article is focused on, became one of the key joint research projects of the Institute’s team. It is the perspective of the Institute of the Living Word’s research projects and performance-related art practices that is used for analysis of the Russian Formalist approaches in the 1910s–20s, specifically articles and books of philologist Boris Eikhenbaum on the melody and composition of verse intonation.

Gadamer, Ibn Sīnā, and the Aesthetics of Self-Transformation

By expanding on Hans-George Gadamer’s critique of contemporary formalist approaches to art, wherein the artist pursues an artwork with a “disinterested” self, this paper endeavors to underline the transformative aspect of aesthetic experience. Even though it acknowledges the epistemological difference between Gadamer’s phenomenological approach and the Arab-Islamic one, particularly Ibn Sīnā’s treatment of arts and aesthetics, it nonetheless discovers some subtle similarities between the two. Consequently, it articulates artistic endeavor as an act of askesis (spiritual exercise) aimed at theosis (becoming like God).

Individualism and Nonconformity in Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”

The research entitled Individualism and Nonconformity in Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” is cultural study about literature. Written in 1915 in England, "The Road Not Taken" is one of Robert Frost's—and the world's most well-known poems. The poem implicitly delved individualism and nonconformity. The poem can be interpreted as a critique of people’s propensity to second-guess their decisions and think that they would have turned out better. It poses doubts regarding the influence of personal decisions on a person’s life journey and casts doubt on the idea that one path is fundamentally superior than another. Therefore, it became the topic to discuss. It was revealed using poetic devices, that is, metaphor and symbols. Metaphor and symbol are included in sense devices, therefore the theory of figure of speech was used. In order to verbalize individualism and nonconformity in the poem, theory of identity from Stryker (1980) was useful. It was descriptive research and there were two literary approaches used in the research, structural and formalistic approach. It was found that the speaker in the poem, faced with a choice between two roads, takes the road "less travelled," a decision which he or she supposes "made all the difference." The poem beautifully explores the idea of individualism and nonconformity by presenting the choice of a diverging road as a metaphor for life's decisions. The poem encourages readers to embrace their unique identities and make choices that align with their values, even if it means going against societal norms. It celebrates the importance of personal agency and the transformative power of unconventional choices.

Geometrics in the illumination of Terengganu Quran manuscript (L.M.N.T 2002.1)

This article aims to identify the basic geometric structures found in the illumination of the Terengganu Quran Manuscript (L.M.N.T 2002.1) collection. The study focuses on the appreciation of art, employing a formalistic approach to visually examine the evident basic geometric structures present in the illumination of the Quran Manuscript (L.M.N.T 2002.1). The research methodology involved observing the illumination of the Quran Manuscript (L.M.N.T 2002.1) and analysing the basic geometric structures based on formalistic aspects such as elements of art and principles of design through formalistic visual analysis using Adobe Illustrator software. In general, the illumination image displays the shape of a rosette or medallion. This character is also viewed from the perspective of cosmology, whereby it is a resemblance of a glowing star and the shining sun. This is appropriate with the concept of lighting or Shamsa. The findings of this research indicated some views on basic geometry in the illumination of the Quran Manuscript (L.M.N.T 2002.1) as an introduction to new knowledge in the field of art in general.

Serbian Constitutional Court – (In)dependent Protector of the Rule of Law and Human Rights?

Abstract This paper is provoked by Rosalind Dixon's book on Responsible Judicial Review and the arguments expressed by the author. The paper deals with the independence of the Constitutional Court in Serbia, as the most important requirement for a responsive judicial review. The main premise is that because of the appointment of judges, almost unknown in professional circles, and their servile relationship with other branches of government, the Constitutional Court acts as a guardian of controversial executive policies. The author briefly describes the origins of the Serbian Constitutional Court and the level of its independence. Some relevant cases are presented that demonstrate the existence of several strategies applied by judges which support the thesis that judges allow political and other factors to influence their decisions. The author also presents human rights cases that illustrate a very formalistic approach of the Court that influences its own legitimacy and lack of support.

No Country for Old Women: A Critique of Grobler v Phillips 2023 1 SA 321 (CC)

Land and land rights remain a contested issue in South Africa. Grobler v Phillips centered on the eviction of an 86-year-old woman, Mrs Phillips, and her disabled son from property she had lived on since she was 11 years old. After a fourteen-year court battle the Constitutional Court granted an eviction order against Mrs Phillips. This case note consists of a discussion of the judgments of the Magistrate's Court, High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court. It is found that the Constitutional Court erred in its decision as it applied a formalistic approach, disregarded the narrative of the occupier and did not sufficiently challenge the current neo-liberal regime in which property rights operate.

Character and Conduct

Abstract The Robinsons’ lawsuit raised the question of just who embodied servitude in the post-Reconstruction US: the formerly enslaved, African-descended passenger or the normatively white railroad conductor?

THE FUNCTIONS OF THE CHARACTER/S IN THE NOVEL THE PALACE OF DREAMS BY ISMAIL KADARE

The Palace of Dreams considering its anti-totalitarian meaning is a miracle of its own because it was published under the communist system of the time by virtue of the novel’s text’s coding in the best possible way. This feature, made the novel important, interesting and challenging to the scholars because it constitutes a literary model that can be studied from different points of view and still provides more new ones. The aim of this paper is to examine the role of the character/s in decoding the hidden meaning layers of the novel by generally applying a formalist approach with a main focus on the structuralist method. These roles will be distinguished by performing a theoretical analysis regarding the involved components in their concretization, by carrying out stylistic analyses to decipher the figurative language and by utilizing these results through interpretive analyses thereby introducing yet another new way of studying the novel’s coded contexts: the first one related to the exposure of the totalitarian dictatorships, the second one related to ethnic identity and the role in terms of the position of Albanians in the socio-political life of the empire and additionally covering an unexplored area in the existing literature. Mark-Alem is delegated multi-functional roles: he becomes a figure, a theme, an idea and a link that holds up the narrative discourse itself. He is the tool that makes the difference between the readers’ understanding of the “historical” events dealt with in this book and the coded contexts that lay under the storyline.

Foreshadowing Palamon’s Triumph and Arcite’s Defeat in Their Rivalry for Emily: An Exploration of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale

This article explores words and actions that foreshadow Palamon’s triumph and Arcite’s defeat in their rivalry for Emily in Geoffrey Chaucer’s ‘Knight’s Tale’. In fact, in accordance with Gustav Freytag’s pyramid about the plot structure, at the second step of the pyramid known as the inciting moment or narrative hook, Chaucer sets in motion the rising action of his story making up suspense. This suspense created by the question the author asks by the end of the first part of the tale in the form of ‘demande d’amour’, leaves free rein to uncertain predictions about the triumph or defeat of Palamon or Arcite involved in a merciless struggle for Emily, Hippolyta’s beautiful younger sister and Theseus’s sister-in-law. Thus, this paper purports to demonstrate that for a scrutineer, Palamon is found to be the winner and Arcite the loser from the outset, since there are words and actions that anticipate their triumph and defeat respectively. To detect those hints of triumph and defeat, a formalist approach is used as it emphasizes the form of a literary work to determine its meaning, focusing on literary elements, such as foreshadowing and back-shadowing, and how they work to create meaning.

“No Time, Make, or Reason”: The Affective Forms of Portishead’s “Only You” Music Video

Sigmund Freud famously distinguished normal mourning and pathological melancholy by the affects’ duration and persistence. This temporal perspective paves the way for reading affect beyond its expressivity and considering it a question of form. In the article, this radical formalist approach is used to examine the way depressive affect manifests itself in the structure of the music video to Portishead’s Only You (dir. Chris Cunningham, 1998), in particular concerning tempo and rhythm. Eugenie Brinkema’s remarks on grief as an affective form marked by heaviness and inertia serve as the basis for analysing tempo. The exploration of rhythm is rooted in Peter Kivy’s assertion that reading musical expression is mediated by understanding the affective properties of the human voice. This makes way for applying Julia Kristeva’s concept of the depressive discourse, understood as a set of particular speech patterns and qualities indicative of depression/melancholy.

Methylene Chloride Comment.

Last May 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule to restrict the production and use of a dangerous chemical called methylene chloride pursuant to its authority under the Toxic Substance Control Act-the first such measure since Congress significantly overhauled that law in 2016. Methylene chloride presents a variety of health and safety risks, particularly for workers in industries in which the chemical is still widely used. In support of the proposed rule, the EPA prepared a document called a cost-benefit analysis, which purports to evaluate the rule by calculating its net benefits-that is, the rule's likely benefits over and above its likely costs. Cost-benefit analysis has been the subject of substantial criticism in recent decades, and the Biden administration is pursuing significant reforms for how these analyses are performed. Together with my colleague Dr. Federico Holm, I submitted comments to the EPA criticizing the cost-benefit analysis for the proposed methylene chloride rule. In these comments, we criticize the agency for continuing to employ an overly formalistic approach to cost-benefit analysis, which both systematically undervalues the benefits of regulations and ignores impact issues like worker justice. We also criticize several specific aspects of the agency's analytical methodology, including its failure to follow the proposed reforms now being developed by the Biden administration.

Characterization Analysis: Cinderella in Grimm's Fairy Tales (Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm) and Cinderella (Grimm's Fairy Tales 2003)

The present article aims to identify the characterization of Cinderella in two different versions of the fairy tale: "Cinderella Fairy Tales" (Grimm's Fairy Tales Version) by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm and "Cinderella" (Grimm's Fairy Tales 2003) Selected & Edited by Edna Henry Lee Turpin. By applying a formalist approach, the article focuses solely on identifying the differences in the characterization of the main character between the two fairy tales.Through a close reading method to collect data from both versions, the present paper elaborates on Cinderella's characterization, highlighting her traits such as being good and pious, grateful, resilient, strong and agile, beautiful, dirty, and even a liar. The differences lie in how the authors describe these traits. The characterization of "liar" suggests that Cinderella is not merely an innocent child; she is also capable of engaging in negative behavior.