Polysemic Character Research Articles

Stories and Empathy in a Time of Crisis: An African Viewpoint

AbstractThis Presidential Lecture explores the ways in which African orality provides the means for a sentimental education in an era of crisis. Quayson notes how the essentially polysemic character of the genres of orality have influenced the ways he understands both literature and the African city, two areas of keen interest. After tracing the texture of Accra’s trotro (passenger vehicle) slogans and the continuity of sentimental education from orality to social media, Quayson concludes by calling for a new interdisciplinary paradigm that would explore the polysemy of African orality alongside the hypertextual algorithms behind today’s social media and the internet.

Reading Benjamin Franklin’s life story in Bareilly

ABSTRACT This essay follows the print history of Benjamin Franklin’s life story. It appears first in William and Robert Chambers’ The Moral Class Book (1839) in Edinburgh and later in the Bareilly Tattvabodhini Sabha’s Niti Pradip (1870). As we juxtapose the English Franklin alongside the Hindi Franklin, it becomes possible to see the pliancy and polysemic character of a life story that emerges at the intersections of history and literature. It absorbs different meanings for readers separated by race, nation, language and gender and becomes an unpredictable vehicle for contradictory aspirations among male and female readers. At times illuminating a commitment to entrepreneurial and working class aspirations, particularly those of printer-publishers, it signals an interest in modernity and its institutions. At the same time, the themes of publicness and statesmanship make Franklin’s life an unusual pedagogical device for women readers in late colonial India. As we trace the Franklin life story through shifting linguistic and interpretative frames, it calls attention to the fraught dynamic in cultural and educational debates of the late colonial period in north India.

Have Schemas Been Good To Think With?*

Schemas are one of the most popular explanatory concepts in cultural sociology and are increasingly used in sociology more broadly. In this article, we ask the question: have schemas been good to think with? We answer this question by analyzing the ontological, epistemic, and methodological bases of schemas, including the conceptualizations, claims, assumptions, and methods that underpin the use of schemas in sociological inquiry. We show that sociologists have developed two distinct, contradictory, and often conflated perspectives on schemas, what we refer to as culturalist and cognitivist perspectives. We suggest that schemas have acquired a polysemic character in sociology, and that they have become a (more narrow and consequently more scientifically legitimate) proxy for Culture, and that these features have (paradoxically) facilitated the popularity of schemas within the discipline. Sociologists have recently begun to make the necessary advancements to turn schemas into a more useful explanatory concept, through both analytical improvements (by distinguishing schemas from both public culture and other forms of nondeclarative personal culture), and methodological innovations (for better deriving schemas from survey data, texts, and experiments). Yet, some challenges remain, and the analytical value of schemas remains promissory. We conclude by offering some guidelines for making more specific and measured claims about schemas in sociological research.

‘A Most Select Gathering’. Mexican National Pilgrimages to Rome during the Papacy of Leo XIII

The objective of this article is to analyse Mexican national pilgrimages to Rome that took place during the pontificate of Leo XIII (1878–1903). These pilgrimages occurred in the context of a global Catholic mobilisation in support of the papacy, during the so-called Roman Question. This paper’s analysis of these pilgrimages draws from historiography about national pilgrimages, as well as studies on Catholic mobilisation in support of the pope in the second half of the nineteenth century. It is fundamentally based on primary sources of an official nature, such as reports and other printed documents produced on the occasion of the pilgrimage. The study’s primary conclusion is that national pilgrimages to Rome had a polysemic character since they brought together various religious and national identities. The pilgrimages contributed simultaneously to reinforcing the link between Catholicism and Mexican national identity and the global dimension of Catholicism and allegiance to the Holy See.

Ἵππος χλωρός (Rev 6.8): A Methodology for the Study of Colour Terms in the New Testament

The meaning of χλωρός in Rev 6.8 has been given a variety of interpretations (green, yellow, pale, vigorous etc.) due to its polysemic character; that is, it possesses a chromatic as well as an achromatic meaning and, in addition, if it denotes colour, can express a wide spectrum of hues. From this arises the need for a methodology that offers not merely a gloss, but rather a ‘meaning’. This methodology is based on: an analysis of the text; the use of the term; the concept of colour that existed in antiquity and the entity in which the colour was embodied; and the use of various lexicographical tools provided by the field of cognitive linguistics.

Mimesis

Abstract This article starts off from the observation of the deeply polysemic character of the term mimesis in current literary studies. On the one hand, it is used to denote a poetics of imitation which was mainly derived from the Poetics of Aristotle and was to become the predominant conception of poetry in early modern times until the advent of Romanticism. On the other hand, besides this historical meaning, mimesis has, at the same time, a systematic significance. It refers to any poetics that defines poetry as a specific representation of reality. In this sense, the poetics of realism is quite unanimously considered to be a paradigmatic example of mimetic literature. Our attempt to bring together both sides of the notion of mimesis, to connect its systematic and its historical meaning, is based on a theoretical approach developed in the first part of our study by a criticism of Wittgenstein’s notion of “family resemblance” (Familienähnlichkeit). In the second part, this theoretical model is used for an analysis of the conception of mimesis in Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Poetics, and Horace’s Ars poetica.

Terminología culinaria en De re coquinaria: lengua técnica y coincidencias con el latín vulgar

This article examines the use of culinary terminology in the recipe book De re coquinaria, by tradition attributed to Apicius. From the analysis of the specialized terms, its use and its technical significance are studied, focussed on two conceptual axes: description of practical procedures (verbs) and naming of material results (nouns). Also it shows the resources for the creation of technical language (as loan translations of Greek and diminutive derivatives) as well as its coincidences with Vulgar Latin. It is concluded that the culinary language in the De re coquinaria and the Vulgar Latin have strong morphological coincidences, but with different expressive values and linguistic uses, which highlights the polysemic character of Latin culinary terminology.

Ciberfeminismo: feministas tecem uma nova rede

A apropriação das tecnologias de informação e comunicação pelas feministas produziram o chamado ciberfeminismo, um conceito com caráter polissêmico e atravessado pela história de apropriação e uso do mesmo. Realiza-se uma revisão bibliográfica sobre o conceito de ciberfeminismo por meio de autoras que possuem diferentes concepções, para costurar as diversas perspectivas aos estudos de caso de experiências ciberfeministas, e demonstrar o ciberfeminismo, na atualidade, como uma nova rede social tecida pelas feministas, constituindo uma mudança paradigmática.

Methodological Behaviorism: Historical Origins of a Problematic Concept (1923-1973).

"Methodological behaviorism" is a term that frequently appears in the behavioristic literature, but one accompanied by considerable semantic confusion: the term is used to denote very different theoretical positions and the authors classified as methodological behaviorists are many and various. In order to understand the polysemic character of this term, we propose a historical analysis of its origins and development in the literature from the 50 years following its first appearance in 1923. The results reveal that it has been used by authors as diverse as Karl Lashley, B. F. Skinner, Herbert Feigl, and Gustav Bergmann. Moreover, it has been defined in terms of two central features (one a methodological assumption and the other a metaphysical one) and used to demarcate positive and negative forms of behaviorism, depending on how each author has understood those features and forms. We conclude that the term's polysemic character and different uses can be traced back to its roots in the 1920s, which helps us to understand the semantic confusion in the contemporary literature.

Reflexiones sobre la paz en el libro XIX del 'De ciuitate Dei' de san Agustín

The article focuses on Book XIX of Saint Augustine’s De ciuitate Dei, and states that peace is not a simple moral call, but a primary tendency of human nature. It briefly reviews the influence of Varro’s anthropological doctrine in S. Augustine’s De ciuitate Dei, highlighting the prima naturae, particularly the appetitus actionis whose finis would be precisely the pax. It is also pointed out that a complete peace cannot be achieved in earthly life, linking the concept of peace with that of ordo. The polysemic character of peace is also highlighted. It also presents that despite of the conflict that exists between the ciuitas terrena and the ciuitas Dei in the time of history, there can be a dialogue and collaboration between them to seek the common interest of social peace. In a second part, it presents the relationship between the ciuitas Dei and the laws of the earthly states, distinguishing the religious and the earthly realms, illustrating this distinction with the position of Saint Augustine in the conflict with the Donatists and the Imperial Laws. Finally, a reflection on the positive law and the eternal law is presented.

Entre o relato e o silêncio: uma análise comparatista das obras 'Maina Mendes', de Maria Velho da Costa e “A terceira margem do rio”, de Guimarães Rosa

This paper aims to develop a comparative study between Maria Velho da Costa’s Maina Mendes and Guimaraes Rosa’s “A terceira margem do rio”. In this essay, I seek to observe how the concepts of silence and testimony in both works evoke some questions about the composition of speeches, specially concerning the relationship between language and language suspension, orality and writing, prolongation and rupture, focusing mainly on the theme of family relationships. For this purpose, I will also refer to the work of David Le Breton on the polysemic character of silence, the studies of Tito Cardoso and Cunha on the rhetoric of the unspoken, as well as the concept of hidden dialogue by Mikhail Bakhtin.

Iuri Lotman: a análise da cultura segundo a perspectiva da complexidade e da transdiciplinaridade

RESUMO Neste artigo, temos vários objetivos. Em primeiro lugar, estamos interessados em retomar a categoria de semiosfera em seu caráter dialético e polissêmico, mas introduzindo reflexões para analisar produções culturais de grande complexidade. Nesse mesmo sentido, a categoria de fronteira semiótica interna e externa permite introduzir os problemas de tradução cultural, intercultural e transcultural que se articulam com as mudanças dinâmicas de cada cultura. Em segundo lugar, retomamos a categoria de cultura, para articulá-la com a não-cultura, com a anticultura, o que leva a propor três tipos de semiosferas: da cultura, da não-cultura, da anticultura, que introduzem aspectos controvertidos que devem ser considerados. Em terceiro lugar, tratamos das últimas abordagens de Iuri Lotman sobre a imprevisibilidade dos processos culturais, com os quais formula premissas sobre a complexidade e transdisciplinaridade presentes em todo o seu trabalho.

Heterogeneity of the Notion of Interest in Accordance with the International Relations Theory: A Study of Russia’s National Interests

The category of a national interest is one of the most popular notions used in international relations. It has a polysemic character and is differently interpreted by various scientific perspectives. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief analysis of selected approaches of the theory of international relations to defining interests and correlating the interpretations of national interests of the Russian Federation performed on their bases. The choice of case study concerning the foreign policy of the Russian Federation is not accidental because in countries aspiring to gain world power the concept of national interest is raised while explaining the motives of decisions taken by their leaders exceptionally often. In this article, Russia’s interests will be discussed in reference to the annexation of the Crimea and Russia’s actions towards Ukraine. Those events vividly show the specificity of defining the national interests, based on one hand on the pursue to being a powerhouse and understanding the interests in the category of power and, on the other hand, resulting from the political identity of Russian elites. As a result, an assessment of the scientific utility of selected theoretical paradigms and their use in the analyses of Russia’s foreign policy will be outlined.

Samuelson vs Fama on the Efficient Market Hypothesis: The Point of View of Expertise

This paper investigates the polysemic character of the Efficient Market Hypothesis through a comparison of the contributions of the two authors who introduced this hypothesis in 1965, Eugene Fama and Paul Samuelson. While both had a normative approach, it is argued that the key point distinguishing the two contributions is the expertise developed by each author. Fama interpreted his model to make practical recommendations for investment strategy. Samuelson interpreted his model to discuss and promote a political expertise that would be useful for policymaking such as the Pareto optimality of speculative price or the social benefit of speculation. The second part investigates the context of paper writing. We suggest that two elements are central to explain Fama and Samuelson's stance: first, the contrasting viewpoints of their research institutions, respectively Chicago and MIT, and second, the position of each author in early financial economics. Finally, we show how their early contrasted stance is consistent with Fama and Samuelson's opposite reactions to the Efficient Market Hypothesis controversy in the 1980s. In conclusion, we suggest that this opposition between Fama and Samuelson is useful to discuss the early EMH controversy in the 1980s.

Pejelagartos, cocodrilos y canoas. De los seres del agua bajo el dominio de ix bolon entre los mayas chontales de tabasco

This paper explores the figure of Thunder God among the Chontal Maya who inabit in the state of Tabasco, Mexico. It pursues to analyze how the multifunctionality of this character is built through an exam of the Chontal mythology. In it, the deity’s functions and attributes fluctuate from one context to another. Apparently, myths refer to gods who act in different areas, present differentiated attributes and manifest heterogeneous functions and skills. Thunder God make lightning, is an illness giver also involved in healing, an agent that controls the water of rivers, lagoons and the sea, and a plant provider while dismembering his own body to transform it into vegetable life, bonding himself with agriculture. Each activity refers to specific attributes that generate at the same time an identification or fusion of Thunder with other deities involved in his domains. The paper intends, in one hand, to capture the principles that reveal how the different fields of action are linked and make Thunder a complex, diverse, and polysemic character. In the other hand, it offers a methodological proposal to examine the construction of the multifunctionality of mesoamerican deities through the analysis of mythology.

Interpreting and Reinterpreting the Political Significance of Popular Media: The Importance of Seeing from a Range of Perspectives

Studies of popular culture have elucidated important insights about the extent to which politics is constructed by entertainment media. Nevertheless, I contend that when it comes to studies of security discourses in entertainment, researchers are too preoccupied with categorising texts as either ‘critical’ or ‘affirmative’, depending on whether they seem to support or challenge militarism. I argue that work on popular culture should be more attentive to the polysemic character of texts – that is, their openness to multiple readings. From this perspective, studies which are directed at finding critical or affirmative meaning are valuable, but they only uncover a narrow range of the possible interpretations texts may receive. I substantiate this with examples of ostensibly critical films which have been appropriated into military culture and ostensibly affirmative videogames which include critical themes. Giving greater attention to polysemy broadens research possibilities, especially when it comes to identifying how popular media are politically meaningful.

Dance, “Stereotypes,” and Gender Relations: The Case of Lowland and Mountain Communities of Karditsa (Thessaly)

Gender identity is the main topic within the field of anthropology of gender: it is an identity with a polysemic character. The present paper focuses on the identity of social gender, since gender is a field of negotiation and a criterion for the analysis of culture. Social gender is a result of social-cultural constructions, established through the repetition of stereotypical dance acts. In this context, dance functions as a symbol, and its study allows the understanding of social structures, and therefore, the understanding of gender identity. Every dance event can be approached as a conceptual field, in which participants act according to gender standards and experience themselves as gender subjects.The aim of this paper is to show the gender social structures and relations within dance and dance practices, as they are imprinted on the mountain and lowland areas of Karditsa (Thessaly), in combination with the predominant social structures. For this purpose, we made use of the theoretical model of Hanna, where dance and dance executions are fields of negotiation of gender identity, as well as Cowan’ s model, according to which social gender can be studied within the context of “dance events.”Through the analysis of these “events,” several discrepancies in social structures and relations were detected between the lowland and mountain communities. These differences are based on dance occasions, and participation or lack of participation of both genders in these occasions, according to dance norms, dance order, and dance types. The above discrepancies constitute gender diversity among lowland and mountain communities, as a result of local social structures and the performative acts.

Ideas as coalition magnets: coalition building, policy entrepreneurs, and power relations

ABSTRACTOne of the most common ways by which ideas influence policy outcomes is by facilitating the construction of a political coalition. The ideas that have this capacity we call coalition magnets, and this contribution explains how coalition magnets open a path for policy reform. The key components of a coalition magnet are the ambiguous or polysemic character of the idea that makes it attractive to groups that might otherwise have different interests, and the power of policy entrepreneurs who employ the idea in their coalition-building efforts. We illustrate the utility of the concept with an examination of three ideas that were creatively employed to construct new policy coalitions: sustainability; social inclusion; and solidarity.

Figuraciones de la tierra natal: patria, nación, república

El presente artículo busca dar respuesta a la pregunta por la especificidad del vínculo que expresa el concepto de nación. Para cumplir tal propósito se analizan los textos de las que han sido denominadas las primeras voces del nacionalismo en los siglos XVIII y XIX, y los estudios recientes sobre las nociones de nación, patria y república. El texto ofrece un acercamiento a los cuatro atributos predicables del concepto de nación, a saber: su carácter polémico y polisémico, su dimensión moderna y artificial, y su naturaleza política; examina las formas a través de las cuales se presentan los productos nacionalistas; y responde a la cuestión de cómo dichas ficciones imaginadas, inventadas o creadas consiguen fundar vínculos fuertes entre el pueblo y su nación. Concluye con una alusión al caso colombiano mostrando, de un lado, que en Colombia los conceptos de nación y de patria son inseparables del lenguaje republicano y, de otro, que la idea de nación que emerge es la de la nación trágica y melancólica.

Polysemic Objects and Partial Translations: Museums and the Interpretation of Indigenous Material Culture in Taiwan

AbstractThis article explores the polysemic character of objects through an analysis of multiple interpretations of indigenous material culture in contemporary Taiwan. My study focuses on a specific type of object—the canoe of the Tao indigenous group of Taiwan—and its interpretations inside and outside of museums. Theoretically, my analysis draws on the concepts of polysemy, boundary objects, and cultural translation to examine the different meanings and contextualizations of Tao canoes. The unique cultural density of Tao canoes provides opportunities to critically engage with the propensity of museums to act as sites for the production, transformation, and dissemination of knowledge about indigenous cultures and to address the complex political discourses in which indigenous material culture is entangled in contemporary Taiwan. [museums, indigenous, material culture, Taiwan, translation, boundary objects, canoes]