European Languages and Societies Commons^™

Evans's The Turducken And Chekhov's The Seagull, Brian R. Johnson

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "Evans's The Turducken and Chekhov's The Seagull" Brian R. Johnson approaches The Turducken as a travesty of The Seagull, examining six iconic scenes from The Seagull, in order to explore the satirical effect of the altered scenes. In December of 2008, Bedlam Theatre of Minneapolis presented The Turducken, "a holiday dinner theater spectacular inspired by Anton Chekhov's The Seagull." Playwright Josef Evans takes Chekhov's 1895 work and turns the classic piece into a musical and farcical satire. The plot of The Turducken follows the plot of The Seagull, and some scenes …

Barthelme's "Paraguay," The Postmodern, And Neocolonialism, Daniel Chaskes

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "Barthelme's 'Paraguay,' the Postmodern, and Neocolonialism," Daniel Chaskes explores the analytic opportunities afforded by conjoining globalizing critical approaches with a story by an author who has often been circumscribed by the postmodern rubric. Donald Barthelme's "Paraguay," written the summer after Nelson Rockefeller's fact-finding mission to South America in 1969, provides a chance to consider modes of anti-colonial critique in Barthelme's work. It also offers examples of a more self-reflective criticism aimed at the U.S. counterculture and the indeterminacies of postmodernism. Chaskes reads "Paraguay" with the aim of understanding Barthelme's hemispheric interest and he investigates the multiple cultural …

Intercultural Approaches To Cities And Spaces In Literature, Film, And New Media: A Review Of New Work By Manzanas And Benito And López-Varela And Neţ, Ana María Martín Castillejos

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

Evoking A Memory Of The Future In Foer's Everything Is Illuminated, Doro Wiese

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Evoking a Memory of the Future in Foer's Everything is Illuminated" Doro Wiese discusses Jonathan Safran Foer's novel. In the text a photograph plays a decisive role: the image of two young people drives the Jewish American Jonathan to visit the Ukraine. The photograph is presumably of Jonathan's grandfather Safran and a woman named Augustine who saved Safran's life during a nazi raid of his village: the photograph becomes an ekphrasis, a description of a visual work of art in another medium which transforms the generic characteristics of written and photographic representations. According to Anselm …

Egypt's Police State In The Work Of Idris And Mahfouz, David F. Dimeo

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "Egypt's Police State in the Work of Idris and Mahfouz" David F. DiMeo examines how two leading twentieth-century authors of politically committed fiction addressed an angry generation's confrontations with former members of the oppressive state police apparatus. Yusuf Idris's The Black Policeman (1962) and Najib Mahfouz's al-Karnak (1974) remain particularly relevant as today's Egyptian activists confront the vestiges of the former regime's security forces. Using Mikhail Bakhtin's theory of the carnival as a paradigm for analysis, DiMeo examines how both texts present sharp contrasts between hollow quests for public revenge through purges and a genuine overturning of …

Metaphor Translation As A Tool Of Intercultural Understanding, Ipshita Chanda

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Metaphor Translation as a Tool of Intercultural Understanding" Ipshita Chanda takes up specific cases of metaphor translation as a methodological exercise towards understanding intercultural exchange. Chanda's study is based on a semiotic and linguistic understanding of metaphor as a signifying and cognitive device. When a metaphor is translated from one linguistic-literary field into another, the process of translation itself yields some specific operational steps for studying inter- and cross-cultural relations. Here, translation is not proposed as a framework but as practical method: the translation of metaphor becomes an exercise in strategy for the pedagogy of …

Aesthetics In Gao's Soul Mountain, Mabel Lee

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Aesthetics in Gao's Soul Mountain" Mabel Lee analyses Nobel Laureate 2000 Xingjian Gao's aesthetics. Transnational conglomerates today control the book industry from publishing house to bookshop and through aggressive market strategies they exert considerable influence on readers. Nonetheless, there are writers who refuse to capitulate to market demands and seek only to actualize their aesthetic ideas in the creation of literary texts. One such writer is Gao, author of the novel Soul Mountain. Lee posits that Gao's aesthetics is founded on the close interrogation of both Chinese and European models and practices and explores specific …

Nostalgia In Oral Histories Of Israeli Women, Yael Zilberman

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Nostalgia in Oral Histories of Israeli Women" Yael Zilberman explores the narration of nostalgia of elderly women about the city of Be'er Sheva. In their narration, the subjects of the study create textual and spatial practices which are engendered and create analogies between the city, their maturing/ed bodies, and by-gone youth. Further, the grief owing to the perceived condition of the city intensifies the idealized description of the city and the longing for its past. Zilberman's study brakes new ground in that the study of urban experience within folklore is a lesser explored field as the urban …

Victims Of The City In Novels Of Zola And Dostoevsky, Marta L. Wilkinson

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Victims of the City in Novels of Zola and Dostoevsky" Marta Wilkinson argues that urbanity in its nineteenth-century setting functioned as the culpable agent in criminal behavior found in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment and in several of Zola's Rougon-Macquart novels. Wilkinson an analysis of the novels based on Merlin Coverly's concept of psychogeography which supports the extension of the cityscape as an integral part of the novels' characters. Further, Wilkinson illustrates how in Zola's and Dostoevsky's novels the city reigns triumphant as characters fall victim to disease, drink, or are left with desperate choices: in Dostoevsky's novel …

Contemporary Us-American Satire And Consumerism (Crews, Coupland, Palahniuk), J.C. Lee

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Contemporary US-American Satire and Consumerism (Crews, Coupland, Palahniuk)" J.C. Lee focuses on contemporary satire's potential (or lack thereof) for change, reform, or rebellion through an investigation of works by Harry Crews, Douglas Coupland, and Chuck Palahniuk, all of which target consumerism. The said writers employ satire not to initiate rebellion or cultural change, but to reflect the problematic role of institutions in modern life and, in turn, the potential, even hope, for personal growth. Lee's analysis of texts by Crews, Coupland, and Palahniuk is intended to question satire's potential as a form of cultural critique and institutional …

Memory, Identity, And Narration: A Book Review Of New Work By Assmann And Conrad And Tilmans, Vree, And Winter, Simona Mitroiu

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

Swiss American Historical Society Review

No abstract provided.

Migliazzo, Arlin C. To Make This Land Our Own: Community, Identity, And Cultural Adaptation In Purrysburg Township, South Carolina, 1732-1865, Michael Dondzila

Swiss American Historical Society Review

To Make This Land Our Own sets out to expand upon a growing historiography of community studies that diverge from the more traditional Puritan, New England model. Purrysburg, South Carolina looked a good deal different than many other communities in early America. One of its peculiarities was the ethnic diversity of the first generation. Many from Switzerland (with ethnic affinities leaning toward either the French or German) and a smattering of Italians, English and Germans, these early pioneers adhered to different Christian tenants, spoke different languages, and held different cultural norms. Such ethnic diversity highlights a theme Migliazzo teases throughout …

Front Matter

Swiss American Historical Society Review

No abstract provided.

End Matter

Swiss American Historical Society Review

No abstract provided.

Jill Fehleison. Boundaries Of Faith: Catholics And Protestants In The Diocese Of Geneva., Hannah Schultz

Swiss American Historical Society Review

In Boundaries of Faith: Catholics and Protestants on the Diocese of Geneva, Jill Fehleison structures the discussion of Reformation Catholicism around national, Confessional, denominational, and geographic lines. The primary focus of the work is the internal politics of the Catholic Church in the aftermath of the Council of Trent as the church attempted to adjust to, and respond to, a strong Protestant presence at Geneva. The discussion is couched in terms of the new political boundaries around France, Savoy, Geneva, and the Pays de Gex, the Catholic response to the Reformed presence in the area, and to the reform of …

Henry Hotze. Three Months In The Confederate Army, Jonathan D. Neu

Swiss American Historical Society Review

As scholars commemorate the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War, it remains vital to consider the words of that era's contemporaries. Zurich-born Henry Hotze's Three Months in the Confederate Army is a particularly noteworthy example of valuable primary source material, though one with an unusual dual purpose. On the surface, it is the chronicle of a soldier's experiences during the heady early days of the war. Digging deeper, Hotze's work represents a piece of Confederate propaganda designed to glorify southern esprit de corps and endear a foreign public to the South's bid for independence. Indeed, readers will find the work …

The Ideas Of Jean Piaget: Using Theory To Better Understand Theory And Improve Learning, William E. Herman

Swiss American Historical Society Review

M ost readers will note the irony embedded in the title of this paper and the Einstein quote. There is an obvious and important thread of truth derived from such premises. Is it prudent and scholarly to employ Jean Piaget's theory in order to more deeply explore the meaning of Piaget's theory? Biblical scholars have long been known to use the writings of the Apostles and other Biblical voices as tools to understand sacred text. In this way, the Bible is used to understand the Bible. As the Swiss theologian Karl Barth once stated regarding the daring element of Christian …

Werner Rothweiler, Magdener Familien 1600-1875 Und Ihre Stammbaume, Leo Schelbert Professor Emeritus

Swiss American Historical Society Review

This large-size and attractively crafted book is the result of impressive and expert genealogical research undertaken by Werner Rothweiler, a retired chemist. The work deals with the agricultural village Magden located in the Fricktal that had been part of Upper Austria until 1803 when it became part of the Swiss Canton Aargau. On 24 January 2004, 1200 years to the day when the first known document concerning Magden was dated, the author presented to the people of Magden a history of their village. His new book complements that work and is in the form of a "microhistorical demography" a study …

Albert Einstein In Switzerland: The Education Of The Most Famous Swiss American, Kurt Winkler

Swiss American Historical Society Review

The most famous Swiss American, by far, was Albert Einstein. It is well known that Einstein worked in Germany starting in 1914, but he was forced to leave in 1933 as someone the Nazis had "not yet hanged," and he came to the United States where he taught at Princeton University for many years. However, Einstein had earlier lived in Switzerland for many years. Even though he became an American citizen in 1940, the great physicist retained ties to Switzerland, and he kept his Swiss passport all his life . Einstein spent his most productive years in Switzerland where he …

William Jennings Bryan: One Of The Last Republican Secretaries Of State, Bradford Sample

Swiss American Historical Society Review

No abstract provided.

The Swiss Confederation In The Eyes Of America's Founders, Stephen P. Halbrook

Swiss American Historical Society Review

The Swiss experience had a positive influence on the American Revolution, figured in the debates on adoption of the United States Constitution, and was a matter of commentary in the political struggles of the early Republic. The American model influenced the Swiss Constitution of 1848,t but before that the Swiss Confederation-then 500 years oldhelped inspire the birth of the American Republic, particularly regarding the interrelated concepts of resistance to oppression, independence from foreign states, neutrality, a people's militia, and federalism.

Kurt 0. Wyss-Labasque. Paradise Bird In The Golden Cage, Fred Jenny

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Ambassador Kurt 0. Wyss began his diplomatic career in 1972, profiting in Geneva of the experiences of the well known American diplomat Georg.F. Kennan. The Swiss writer Friedrich Duerrenmatt once said: 'Who writes will always get the own chaos and the one of the world in order'.

Marc H. Lerner. A Laboratory Of Liberty: The Transformation Of Political Culture In Republican Switzerland, 1750-1848., Martin Kalb

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Few nation states embody ideals of freedom and liberty like Switzerland. Embedded within a complex European context while maintaining internal diversity, this Alpine nation with an intricate history remains a powerful case study for historians interested in revolutionary Europe , republicanism, and political modernity. Marc H. Lerner now adds the newest analysis to this broader field. In his view, "the Swiss case is important to the overall project of examining the origins of modern political liberty precisely because of the mixed and blended discourses that resulted from the pragmatic discussions found in republican Switzerland" (8). Rightfully describing Switzerland between 1750 …

Babette's Feast And The Goodness Of God, Thomas J. Curry

Journal of Religion & Film

This article attempts to answer the preeminent question Babette’s Feast invites viewers to consider: Why does Babette choose to expend everything she has to make her feast? Of the critical studies made of the film, few have considered analytically crucial the catastrophic backstory of Babette, the violence of which is implied and offscreen. Appreciation of the singularity of Babette’s own personhood and the darker aspects of her experience, and not only how she might act as a figure of Christ, are key to understanding the motivating force behind her meal and its transformative effect: That through the feast Babette lays …

Willem Blaeu's 'Asia Noviter Delineata': Expressions Of Power Through Naval Might And Natural Knowledge In Dutch Mapmaking, Joshua W. Poorman

Student Publications

This paper situates Dutch mapmaker Willem Blaeu’s Asia noviter delineata—part of the Stuckenberg Map Collection in the Gettysburg College Special Collections—within the larger framework of Renaissance thought and a shifting colonial balance of power. The map’s pictorial marginalia expresses a Dutch quest for empirical knowledge that echoed contemporary cabinets of curiosities throughout early modern Europe. Similar to these cabinets, Blaeu’s map can be seen as a cartographic teatro mundi, used to propagate Dutch hegemony through both a robust naval presence and an expanding geographic and natural knowledge of the world.

Crise Do Natural: Percepções E Representações Da Natureza E Suas Relações Com A Esfera Social Na Novíssima Prosa Latino-Americana, Danielle Murta De Laborde Affonso

Spanish and Portuguese ETDs

This thesis approaches the fictional works of three contemporary Latin American authors: the Brazilian writers Regina Rheda, Letícia Wierzchowski and the Argentine author Gustavo Nielsen. In selected works by these writers Humana Festa (2008); Os Aparados (2009) and El Corazón de Doli (2010), respectively, I analyze the literary representation of nature in relation to neoliberalism and globalization in Latin America. My study considers the explicit and implicit values attached to the ecological in contemporary society, how the environment is represented in contemporary literature and how it dialogues with current political, social and cultural trends. The thesis explores how the fictional …

Interlanguage Pragmatic Development In Native Speaker/Nonnative Speaker Participatory Online Environments, Adrienne Gonzales

Spanish and Portuguese ETDs

This dissertation seeks to discover the ways in which participation in an online social networking site affects interlanguage pragmatic development. Livemocha is an online social network centered around language learning that emphasizes the collaboration required in constructing language. This social networking site encourages learners to establish an identity through their user profiles and to reach out to other members through email, text-based chat, video chat, or peer-reviewed lessons. This study examines interaction in text-based chat between native speakers (NSs) and language learners of Spanish in this environment. Conversations were collected from seven participants over the course of one academic year …

Forging Alliances Across Fronteras: Transnational Narratives Of Female Migration And The Family, Vanessa De Veritch Woodside

Spanish and Portuguese ETDs

This dissertation examines the effects of transnational migration on women with particular attention to the (re-)negotiation of personal and cultural identity resulting from the adoption of novel roles within Chicana narratives of Mexican migration. Chapter One offers a historical background regarding the U.S.-Mexico border, (im)migration, and more specifically, women and migration, as well as an overview of pertinent Chicano migrant literature that serves as an appropriate point of departure for discussion of Chicana re-writings of such texts. This discussion offers border feminism as a framework for analyzing the representation of evolving feminine roles and familial configurations in the context of …

Women's Political Representation In Europe: An Analysis Of Structural And Attitudinal Factors, Jenna Elaine Mcculloch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this mixed methods study, I explore the reasons for the low level of women in elected office in Europe. I analyze the impact of three structural factors (number of years since women's suffrage was enacted, type of electoral system, and presence of legal gender quotas) and three attitudinal factors (level of gender equality, percentage of female professionals, and level of religiosity) on the percentage of women in national legislatures in each of the European countries. Specifically, I pose the following research question: Which structural and/or attitudinal factors are more influential for women's political representation in European countries?

In order …