Modern Readers Research Articles

Grimalkin

This is a work of fiction examining the impact of witch-fears on the lived realities of women in mid-seventeenth-century Germany. It is largely based on the seminal work on demonological witchcraft, Heinrich Kramer's Malleus Maleficarum (1486), which reflected the principle fears and beliefs surrounding witchcraft, and which dominated much of the next few centuries' discussion on it. Demonological beliefs, the most common school of thought on witchcraft in early modern Germany, were deeply (and often sexually) misogynistic, as well as blood–writers imagined witches to be infanticidal, cannibalistic, and insatiable. Previous research has stressed that women were disproportionally both accused and accusers during German witch panics; this project attempts to imagine the experience of the former and the motivations of the latter. It also argues that (while the modern reader knows witches did not and do not exist), due to the widespread belief in witchcraft, the frequency of the trials, and the extent to which it motivated women's and men's actions, the fear of witches constituted the reality of witches. 

Gauls in the Roman Senate: A Rhetorical Analysis of Claudius’ Speech Preserved on the Tabula Lugdunensis

Abstract The Tabula Lugdunensis, unearthed at Lyon in 1528, preserves part of a speech that emperor Claudius delivered to the Senate in 48 CE, to argue in favour of admitting the elites of north-western Gaul to the Roman senate. This article presents a rhetorical analysis of the speech. Modern readers have labelled the style of the speech ‘bombastic’ and ‘pedantic’, while criticising its many historical examples. An examination of the speech in terms of inventio, dispositio and elocutio, however, demonstrates that Claudius carefully constructs the ethos of an erudite and open-minded authority. Two moments of rhetorical persuasion can be distinguished: first, the Senate meeting in Rome itself and, second, the publication of the bronze inscription at the Sanctuary of the Three Gauls at Lugdunum. Not much deliberative rhetoric was perhaps needed to persuade the senators to agree with their emperor; the display of the inscription, on the other hand, could be interpreted as a form of epideictic rhetoric, which may have given a significant boost to the self-confidence of Roman citizens in Gaul. While some senators in Rome may have disliked the lengthy historical exempla in the oral speech, visitors to the sanctuary in Lugdunum may have appreciated seeing Gaul included in the long history of Rome.

«ПУТЬ ПАЛОМНИКА ДЛЯ XXI ВЕКА»: ПЕРЕСКАЗ ДЭВИДА ХАРАКАЛА

The article focuses on the problem of preserving classical fiction in the reading agenda of modern people as well as on methods of literary alteration of famous texts. The problem of retelling texts is considered from different perspectives: there exist three strategies for changing the source text, and the characteristic features of modern literary retelling. This theoretical basis is used to analyze David Harakal’s book “The Pilgrim’s Progress for the 21st Century” (2022), which is a retelling of John Bunyan’s allegorical story “The Pilgrim’s Progress” for a modern readership. The study showed that David Harakal used a combination of three strategies when adapting John Bunyan’s text: he replaced one main character with a family of personages, introduced new characters, added episodes that complemented the original plot; the setting of his retelling became provincial America, and the action takes place in our days; the change of place and time is reinforced by the introduction of modern realities into the text; the genre of the new work combined the features of a reise-roman and a bildungs-roman.

Medieval reading in the twenty-first century?

Abstract Reading practices in medieval manuscripts have often been the subject of critical analysis in the past. Recent technological developments have extended the range of analytical possibilities; one such development is that of eye tracking. In the present article, we outline the results of an experiment using eye tracking technologies which were carried out recently in Spain. The analysis points to particular trends in the ways in which modern readers interact with medieval textual forms and we use this analysis to point to future possibilities in the use of eye tracking to broaden and deepen our understanding of the workings of the medieval page.

From Anatomical Theatres to the Stage: Ferdinand and Dissection in the Duchess of Malfi

Unlike our 21st-century approaches to the disciplines, science and art were inextricably intertwined during the Early Modern Period. Innovations in scientific knowledge were both propagated and critiqued through various literary forms. Operating within the intersection of science and literature, this essay examines John Webster’s 17th-century play, The Duchess of Malfi, as a vehicle for critiquing contemporary anatomical dissections. Building upon Daisy Murray’s Twins in Early Modern English Drama and Shakespeare, and Albert H. Tricomi’s “The Severed Hand in Webster’s Duchess of Malfi,” this essay highlights the ways in which Webster engages with the anatomical dissections of his time. “From Anatomical Theatres to the Stage” begins with an overview of the history of European anatomical theatres and moves into an analysis of twinship as a dissection at birth and its implications for the early modern reader. Then, it considers Ferdinand’s association to witchcraft and his embodiment of the early modern surgeon as a means to showcase the immoral nature of the performance of human dissection. Beyond its demonstration of Webster’s engagement with his contemporary science, this essay ultimately illustrates the inseparability of art and science.

Articulator Characteristics Of THE Cycles Of The Historical-Fantasy Romans Of David Gemmell" The Lion Of Macedon " and "Troy"

David Gemmell's historical fantasy novels, particularly those centered around the Trojan War and Alexander of Macedonia, masterfully intertwine historical authenticity with imaginative elements, creating narratives that both entertain and offer fresh perspectives on well-known historical events. This study delves into Gemmell's unique approach to historical fantasy, analyzing how he reimagines legendary episodes such as the siege of Troy and the life of Alexander the Great. Through a detailed examination of Gemmell's works, including The Lion of Macedon and the Troy trilogy, this research highlights his ability to blend historical accuracy with mythological creativity. The analysis reveals that Gemmell's characters, rooted in history yet enhanced by fantastical traits, resonate deeply with modern readers by addressing timeless themes such as heroism, fate, and the human condition. The study finds that Gemmell's integration of historical figures with mythological elements not only enriches the narrative complexity of his works but also engages readers in a more profound exploration of the ethical and philosophical dimensions of history. His portrayal of characters like Alexander and the heroes of Troy balances their legendary status with human vulnerabilities, making them relatable and compelling to a contemporary audience. Additionally, the research uncovers that Gemmell's approach to historical fantasy significantly influences the reader's perception of historical events, offering an alternative lens through which to understand and appreciate the past.

What’s the Matter with Angels? Angelic Materiality and the Possible Intellect in Some Early Fourteenth-century Franciscans

While the question of whether angels are composed of matter and form, may seem, to the modern reader, somewhat odd, medieval thinkers saw it as a genuine puzzle. On the one hand, angels are purely intellectual creatures, which, according to some (perhaps most famously Aquinas), seems to imply that they are altogether devoid of materiality. On the other hand, however, angels are capable of change, which, according to the broadly-speaking Aristotelian framework, seems to imply an underlying material substrate. This paper traces the views of some early fourteenth-century Franciscan texts, according to which angels are material: the Disputed questions by Gonsalvus of Spain, a De Anima question-commentary sometimes attributed to the early Duns Scotus, and the Sentences commentaries of Peter of Trabibus and of Peter Auriol. As will be seen, the question of angelic materiality gave ample opportunity for these thinkers to elaborate on what they meant exactly by ‘matter’, and to hint at the ways in which this metaphysical principle is related to other important metaphysical notions in the neighborhood, such as change, corporeity, or potency.

‘Christian notes sound sweetest suffering’: birds, books and textual circulation in Sir John Gibson’s commonplace book (BL Add 37719)

ABSTRACT A growing body of scholarship has worked to recover the vocal dimensions of early modern reading and the effects of aural reading cultures on literary composition. Where these studies have focused on the relationship between the human voice and early modern texts, this article examines how the seventeenth-century royalist prisoner Sir John Gibson deploys early modern ideas about birds and birdsong as he seeks consolation through the material and textual processes of literary composition, manuscript compilation, and epistolary exchange. These efforts are evident in his physical and imaginative construction of his miscellany (BL Add 37719) as possessing bird-like capacities for movement and communication. While Gibson’s miscellany does draw on familiar seventeenth-century ideas about music and the human voice, I argue that his invocations of birds and birdsong produce intriguing and powerful claims for the ways written texts can extend the capabilities of the human voice and body.

「曠野」에 나타난 시적 주체와 노래의 장소성

This paper examined the poetic subject and the placeness of the song revealed in 「曠野」[Gwangya] from the perspective of readers who read Lee Yuk-sa's poem 「曠野」 aloud. Rhythm is also essential in modern poetry as a verse. Therefore, we have to read modern poetry aloud as well as with our eyes. Readers could sense voice text 「Gwangya」 by reading letter text 「Gwangya」 aloud. Letter text 「Gwangya」 is a seed of voice text 「Gwangya」 that is a song. The poem 「曠野」[Gwangya] is “the seed of the song” and the song 「광야」[Gwangya] makes a sound and disappears for a certain period of time. That certain time is important. When the reader sings 「광야」, 「曠野」 collects songs with centripetal force or scatters songs with centrifugal force as the place of the poetic subject. 「曠野」, an empty place where nothing can be heard, moves freely as various meanings in space and time of readers by driving readers to make a voice.

Scribal interpretation of problematic passages in Old English poetry: Insights from theories of textual difficulty

ABSTRACT This essay examines how early scribes understood and interpreted Old English poetic texts, which often contain passages that are challenging for modern readers. Focusing especially on cases where Old English poetic texts exist in multiple copies, it explores the differences between versions and what they reveal about the ease or difficulty of comprehension among early scribes and audiences. The essay analyzes examples of difficult passages from Beowulf, several Exeter Book riddles, and Cædmon’s Hymn, and how they were copied and modified over time. It considers what the different versions of these texts might suggest about the varying degrees of understanding among these scribes and readers. The essay suggests that early audiences faced difficulties not unlike those faced by modern readers, especially relating to the interpretation of structure, redundancy, and cohesion. The essay aims to enhance our empathy for original audiences and for our students as we teach and study Old English texts.

Shaking Hands and the Politics of Touch in Early Modern England

ABSTRACT Drawing on work in the social sciences on the handshake, this article examines the role of the handshake as a form of gestural communication and traces the changes in its relative importance in the ‘access rituals’ of early modern England. We lack a history of the handshake for early modern England. Such work as there is, is chronologically discontinuous and largely blind to the sociology of its performance. Working across the period from the later fifteenth into the eighteenth century, the article seeks to recover the chronological, spatial, social and gendered contours to the handshake. Discussing early modern understandings of the social and cultural meanings of touch and the hand, the article explores how performing a handshake could play a part in the representation, reproduction and negotiation of social and political relationships. Examining the micro-politics of shaking hands, the article offers a critical historical assessment of modern readings of the handshake as signalling friendship and social solidarity, analysing the changing significance of the ‘handshake entitlement’ as a ‘status-regulated’ gesture that helped both to enact and to challenge early modern social and political order.

Observing logics: revisiting reason in The Brothers Karamazov

AbstractVery often in frameworks for and presentations of The Brothers Karamazov, the modern reading public attempts to divide characters by their ability to reason. Usually Ivan is remembered for his reason, pitted against Dmitri’s passion. Adapting some terminology from mathematical logic, I propose and trace a different approach to reason in Dostoevsky’s text, to recast its canonical characters into alternative, though still fluid, categories. This exercise aims not to reinscribe or to reinterpret Dostoevsky’s novel but rather to reconsider an aspect of reasoning, specifically modes or forms of logic. With an admittedly imperfect mapping of characters onto these logical structures, this article encourages the ways in which we can trouble notions of stable reason and sound logic as they operate in the novel.

Support, promotion and popularization of reading by the modern Russian professional community

The turn of the 20th and 21st centuries was the time of formation a new social reality, where books and reading lost their leading positions to new media technologies. The index of media activities for reading on paper continues to decline steadily. The formation processes of a technogenic society in the country as well as digitalization and convergence of media industry, including publishing, bookselling and library complex and mass media in the early 21st century brought a powerful contradiction. On the one hand, serious threats to the existence of books and reading have arisen, but on the other hand, new opportunities for maintaining and enhancing book culture have appeared. Under these conditions, the professional community has taken effective measures to stimulate public interest in books, reading and libraries. It involved interested organizations in this process; developed special programs and projects for the promotion and development of book culture; created special centers at libraries and universities dedicated to the study of modern reading; provided scientific, methodological and practical assistance to libraries. The professional community also organized the largest professional forums and campaigns to attract the public to reading. The purpose of the article is to show how various institutions, centers, government structures and creative unions in Russia support, promote and popularize the reading. This article allow us to get acquainted with the most successful experience of existing and/or newly created organizations and public associations carried out educational, informational and research activities in the field of books and reading.

Reading Culture in the Digital World

The purpose of this study is to explore and to identify the existing problems of modern reading and to suggest possible solutions. The study focuses on the role of different forms of reading in development and shaping of personality in the digital age. Radical and rapid technological developments in the world, especially after the 2000s, including devices such as computers, internet, smartphones, tablets, e-books and e-readers, have also changed the reading people behavior. Digital reading has started to become a popular type of reading in the digital world. Important issues such as popularity of digital reading he world, reading preference trends in printed and digital formats, reading preferences by age groups and how future developments in this regard need to be examined. This study defines and examines first the basic concepts of digital reading and also the advantages and disadvantages of digital reading. In addition some statistical data regarding printed and digital reading in various countries around the world were interpreted as well as the results of the research conducted in Turkey were evaluated in the study. It can be said that digital reading is becoming increasingly popular in the world in general, but not very quickly. All age groups still prefer printed formats primarily. It can be said that the preferred reading type may vary depending on the purpose of reading, and in general, digital reading is preferred choice for academic-scientific and educational reading. Printed reading is favored for leisure reading. At the end of the study, some predictions and suggestions were made regarding the future trends of digital reading. The main result shows that reading under the influence of the socio-cultural environment is changing all over the world. These transformational phenomena manifest themselves in both positive and negative senses. The author drew our attention to the fact that children and teenagers should develop both types of reading. The author noted that families, teachers, schools and libraries should play an important role in this case.

Glial cells of the central and peripheral nervous systems: An overview of existing research

Orientation: Until recently, most of that neural research was been directed at understanding the morphology and functions of the neuron. However, with advances in scanning and microscopy, the morphology and function of glia are attracting greater attention.Research purpose: To many readers glia are often mysterious background players. This paper is an overview of existing literature was compiled to remove some of this mystery they may encounter when reading modern scientific neuroscience publications.Motivation for the study: This study was motivated to increase understanding of the important roles played by glia cells in the efficient operation of the human nervous system.Research approach or design and method: This study was compiled in the form of a literature review from freely accessible journal articles and common text books. Using key words ProQuest and Google Scholar databases were consulted for peer reviewed journal articles.Main findings: Glia cells have a greater role than just ‘glue’ for neurons. Examples of their roles include maintaining the levels of essential extracellular cations such as calcium, the maintaining of the integrity of neural connectivity, the creation and release of communicating gliotransmitters, and the role of microglia as an integral part of the immune system.Implications for practice: It is essential for anyone wanting to comprehend the mammalian nervous system as described in modern literature to have a broad understanding of the integration, signalling, and structural significance of glia. This overview provides a level of knowledge meeting this need.Contribution or value-add: This overview has provided a basic, but comprehensive, low-cost launch-pad of knowledge to have a broad understanding of the integration, signalling, and structural significance of glia.

Stefan Zabierowski – Conrad Researcher

The study is an attempt to discuss and summarize the multidirectional and multifaceted Conradist achievements of Stefan Zabierowski. I carefully try to present the scholar’s work on many planes so as to reveal his precursorship, which is not always visible at first glance. It is Zabierowski who creates the entire background of reading and reception research in Conrad studies, starting from the monograph from 1971, entitled Conrad w Polsce. Wybrane problemy recepcji krytycznej w latach 1896-1969 [Conrad in Poland. Selected problems of critical reception in the years 1896-1969] up to Dziedzictwo Conrada w literaturze polskiej XX wieku [Conrad’s Legacy in Polish literature of the 20th century] from 1992. From the perspective of interpretive research, Zabierowski-the researcher represents the exegetical school, devoting most of his attention to one work, the analysis of which has been deepened over the years, also using modern reading theories (Umberto Eco’s concept of the open work) – Lord Jim. In the discussion on the so-called Joseph Conrad’s Polish, as well as borderland background, Zabierowski proposes a competitive metaphor to the one comparing Conrad’s writing to the cathedral in Kamieniec Podolski by Paweł Hostowiec (Jerzy Stempowski) – Conrad’s literature is the Slutsk Belt of competing currents, motifs and poetics and as such, it requires original intertextual reflection. Zabierowski initiates it by comparing the Gould marriage from Nostromo with the Niechcic marriage from Maria Dąbrowska’s Nights and Days.

חוויית אסירות המחתרות בבית לחם, 1947-1939: היבטים מגדריים

Bethlehem prison was the only women’s prison in Palestine during the British Mandate. It housed over two hundred Jewish women, mainly from the Irgun and Lehi underground movements. This article describes, for the first time, the experience of the women in Bethlehem prison and analyzes it using gender tools. Their experiences were documented and preserved in ego-documents that include personal letters, diaries, and subsequently written memoirs. The analysis of gender content in the writings of the women in Bethlehem prison focuses the discussion on a number of components: their relations with Jewish prisoners accused of criminal offenses and with Arab prisoners; feminine outward markers and concern about external appearance and the women’s physical and medical needs; family and motherhood behind bars; and also, spiritual elements, including ritual practice in female environments. We also discuss elements that do not appear in their writings, including feminist themes or at least those interpreted as feminist in a modern reading. All of this sheds light on the unique perspective of the woman fighter in the Revisionist movement and adds another layer to the history of women and gender in the Jewish Yishuv and the study of the underground movements

The Tragedy of Humanity: Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta Revisited

Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta is a significant example of the transition from Morality Plays to a period of more developed and mature drama in the Elizabethan period. The themes that Marlowe handles and the protagonist he presents in the play emerge as aspects of a distinctive approach to dramatic representation and the concept of drama of that time. The play is set against the background of the struggle for economic, political, and military dominance between the Catholic Spain and Moslem Ottoman Empires and the Catholic administration and Jewish mercantile class in Malta. Religious conflicts and bigotry, intrigues, betrayals, and revenge plans committed by almost all characters representing different religious communities, ethnic prejudices that affect not only individuals but also the whole society, greed, and moral corruption emerge as the basic themes. Although the full title of the play was Famous Tragedy of the Rich Jew of Malta, the play could not gain the status of a tragedy in the Aristotelian or Elizabethan sense of the word for many critics due to its dominant farcical characteristics. For a modern reader, however, The Jew of Malta can be considered as a satirical tragedy, the tragedy not of the protagonist Barabas, but of humanity that craves material benefits and political power, and for the sake of achieving these, commits all kinds of villanies including exploitation, theft, and murder, and as a result, socially experiences the fall of the tragic hero.

Commentary on a Commentary on Ancient Mesopotamian Commentaries

A gathering of the available ancient diagnostic commentaries, difficult as they are, should allow for the discovery of many interesting insights into the production of knowledge in ancient Mesopotamia. The work under review is disappointing in this regard. The presentation is cumbersome and confusing. The translations are all too often inaccurate, as are the interpretations. All in all, the work represents a step or two backward from previous editions of the texts. With these defects corrected, however, these ancient commentaries have much to offer the modern reader.

PROFESSOR IVAN TSVETAEV AND HIS METHODS OF THE EPIGRAPHIC RESEARCH: INTERPRETATION OF THE BRONZE FROM FALERII NOVI (CIL I2.365)

Ivan Vladimirovich Tsvetaev (1847-1913) was an outstanding Russian сlassical philologist, art historian and archaeologist, professor at the Moscow State University. He was known as the founder of the Alexander III Museum of Fine Arts. As a researcher, Tsvetaev was interested in Latin literature and Italic languages. The article is based on the linguistic analysis and interpretation of bronze tablet from Falerii Novi (CIL I2.365), published by Tsvetaev in the Ministry of Public Education journal in November 1883. Tsvetaev’s article is supplemented with comments of modern reading and explanation of some linguistic features, the historical grammar of Latin and other Italic languages, as well as a modern interpretation of the text and linguistic characteristics of the inscription language, which is still the subject of discussion. The article reveals an outstanding role of Tsvetaev in the development of the studies in Italic languages.