Humanities

Archaeological evidence from the early Euboean settlement of Pithekoussai (modern Ischia) in the Bay of Naples dates its foundation to the first half of the 8th century BCE (Buchner 1966, 4-6; Buchner 1971, 63; Ridgway 2004, 18-20,22,29-30; Hodos 1999, 61; Kelley 2012, 245). As the “oldest Greek settlement in the Western Mediterranean,” Pithekoussai has received considerable scholarly attention, and debate, regarding the function of the site as either an emporion (trading post) or apoikia (colony) and its significance within the wider context of Greek colonization (Hodos 1999, 61; Kelley 2012, 245-246; D’Agostino 2006, 218; D’Acunto 2020, 1291). While material cultural evidence indicates mixed occupation of the settlement, including both Greeks and Phoenicians, as Kelley (2012, 245) describes, the role of “native Italic populations [at Pithekoussai]… has [either] been overlooked or viewed as a fringe element” (Becker 1995, 275; Ridgway 2004, 16-18, 23; D’Agostino 2006, 222; D’Acunto 2020, 1291-1293, 1297). Evidence for metalworking of Italic ores at the site and the styles of metal artefacts discovered at Pithekoussai, including fibulae (clothing clasps) and Homeric-style cheese graters, and contemporary mainland settlements indicates a high level of interaction between Euboean settlers and local elites in the 8th and 7th centuries BCE (Ridgway 1997, 323-339; Hodos 1999 61-74; Kelley 2012, 245-256; D’Agostino 2006, 217-232). This paper addresses the importance of metalworking at Pithekoussai and the negotiation for metal resources on the mainland as a Middle Ground for intercultural contact and exchange between Italic populations and incoming Greeks during the earliest stage of Greek expansion in the West (Malkin 2002, 151-172; Kelley 2012, 245-246, 255-256).

While women’s rights remained a politically charged topic, women’s initial involvement in sports was a delicate attack on the domestic image of wives and daughters. The “angel in the house” was interested in more than simply the private sphere; she wanted to exercise. And so, she should, as many of the era would argue, not only for her benefit, but for the benefit of her future children. By the mid-Edwardian era, images of women practicing sports became commonplace, but not without heavy initial resistance. The gradual acceptance of women in sports opened the door for the further development of women’s rights in all aspects of their lives. For middle-class late Victorian women, leisure time not only became an acceptable concept, but “an integral part of the[ir] identity.” Women, both married and single, took part in sports such as cycling, tennis, golf and croquet. In this paper, I will examine the history of the development of women’s sports in Britain which led to physical activity eventually being recognized as a suitable outlet for women. I will also discuss how periodicals, specifically popular British publication Punch, and Bernarr MacFadden’s Beauty and Health, contributed to the normalization of women’s sports. By promoting body autonomy, clothing reform and increased mobility and freedom, physical exercise subtly contributed to the women’s rights movement.

Paul Groarke describes the aspects of tribal law in an effort to demonstrate a spiritual connection between the moral and legal inherent therein. His concepts of cosmological forces, social control and cohesion are each contrasted with positivist legal systems to demonstrate a natural connection between the legal and moral. In this paper, I evaluate each of these concepts, beginning with Groarke’s depiction of positivist law, followed by evaluations of each of the aforementioned concepts. In the critical discussion that follows, I argue that the inaccuracies in Groarke’s depiction of tribal society undermine his argument that there is a direct connection between law and morality in tribal law.

In “The Ideology of Modernism,” György Lukács defines modernist literature as “anti-realism” (395). For Lukács, the anti-realism of modernist writing is based on the modernist ontological view of humanity that depicts humans in their solitariness and thus solely through their mind and the framework of psychopathology. Lukács argues that modernist ideologies examine the human condition and challenge the existence of humanity through “an escape into nothingness,” which offers a foundationally nihilistic and anti-capitalist political view of the world (402). The politics of modernism, as outlined by Lukács, are rooted in the content of modernist literature and therefore shape the formal characteristics of a text by expressing nihilism and anti-capitalism. As Lukács tells us, “content determines form”; in other words, the aesthetic presentation and textual design directly relates to its intended purpose (396). This particular view of modernism suggests that ideology is the formative principle that underlies style, and, therefore, stylistic technique is dependent upon content. A productive example of this tension between content and form in modernist writing can be found in William Faulkner’s modernist text, As I Lay Dying (1930). In this essay I argue that Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying implements a stream-of-consciousness narrative technique and experimental writing to enrich the political ideas of modernism as set out by Lukács. While As I Lay Dying is ideologically consistent with Lukács’ views, Faulkner nonetheless demonstrates how the ‘ideology of modernism’ contributes to the distinctive realism of modernist writing owing to its unconventional formal characteristics.

Few places are as emotionally close yet physically distant as the island of Newfoundland and the battlefields of Beaumont-Hamel in northern France. The site of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment’s largest defeat in the First World War, Beaumont-Hamel is a location heavily intertwined with the collective memory of the people of Newfoundland. The French battlefield’s purchase and conversion into Beaumont-Hamel Memorial Park by the Government of Newfoundland in 1925, and its designation as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1996, indicate the specific narratives of remembrance that developed in twentieth century Newfoundland. This essay will argue that Beaumont-Hamel’s federal commemoration in 1996 is a marker of the changing perception of Newfoundland’s role in the First World War after its confederation with Canada in 1949. An overview of both the site itself and the battle that occurred there will precede a discussion on the changing perception of the site as a symbol of honour and national pride to one of grief and bitterness.

George Eliot’s writings are quintessentially Victorian, adeptly weaving symbolism, characters, and social commentary into cohesive narratives. Arguably, George Eliot’s most accomplished work is her historical novel Romola (serialized in Cornhill Magazine 1862-3), a tale that, on account of its stringent research and attention to detail, successfully immerses readers into Renaissance Florence. Eliot portrays a complex, fictitious story unfolding concurrent to true events, enhancing historical verisimilitude through precise and careful employment of real-life places and personages. Eliot’s representation of setting and psychologically-genuine actors makes her narrative not just historically immersive, but aesthetically captivating. This fascination draws in readers, encouraging contemplation of Romola’s most important dimension, its didacticism. Although Eliot’s novel ostensibly focuses on the tumult of the old world, encapsulated by the neo-classical Florentine Republic, it is equally an observation on the novelist’s contemporary society. Apart from historical fiction, Romola is an ethical commentary on Victorian England, a nation caught between faith in traditional moral and social ideals, and faith in material fortune. Eliot, through Romola, recommends that the past’s morality be improved upon, not rejected.

Following its establishment in 1848, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood saw the swift rise in fame of its most prominent member, Dante Gabriel Rossetti (hereafter DGR), a leading poet and painter of the mid-Victorian period. As I shall show in this paper, DGR’s artwork and poetry invites us to consider the problematic relationship between the artist and his muse Elizabeth “Lizzie” Siddal, a model for the Pre-Raphaelites. Lizzie became highly critical of how women, primarily herself, were represented by the Pre-Raphaelites. In this regard, she aligned with DGR’s sister, the poet Christina Rossetti, in offering a strident critique of the group’s enslavement of the muse: the male artist’s objectification of his model, which renders her an object of illustration to be gazed upon. The representation of the Pre-Raphaelite muse reflects DGR’s unsettling relationship with Lizzie, first as his model and later as his wife. An exploration of the relationship between DGR and Lizzie sheds light on the destructive, real-life effects DGR’s work had on Lizzie as the living muse, encouraging the reader or viewer to revisit the work and perhaps revise their interpretation of it.

An economically balanced capitalist society has never been achieved without exacerbating inequality, and the burden of that imbalance has been largely displaced onto women. This increased weight has placed women in an impossible position simply because they cannot play all of the roles that they are expected to play with the adequacy these roles require. Arguably, the heaviest weight of all is the work of social reproduction, which Nancy Fraser defines as anything from the “birthing and raising of children [to] maintaining social connections more generally” (99). In A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, the main character, Nora Helmer, is burdened so heavily by the work of social reproduction that she faces a conflict: one that will force her to make a decision regarding the quest for the possibility of becoming an autonomous individual.

Sushi chef Ono Yoshikazu stated in a 2011 interview with The Wall Street Journal, concerning why there are so few female sushi chefs, that “The reason is because women menstruate. To be a professional means to have a steady taste in your food, but because of the menstrual cycle women have an imbalance in their taste, and that's why women can't be sushi chefs.”[1] Ono is the son of renowned sushi chef Ono Jiro, who was profiled in the 2011 documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi directed by David Gelb, and who is arguably one of the world’s most well-known sushi chefs. The film shows Ono making sushi in his small subway restaurant where reservations must be made months in advance. The film has helped to promulgate a certain image of the sushi chef outside of Japan, but this image has a long history. Indeed, as the above quote suggests, there are prescribed qualities associated, not just with the profession of sushi chef (itamae), but the profession of chef in general in Japan. These qualities are coded as masculine, and, therefore, gender the profession of chef.

In chapter seven of Politics and Sex: Exploring the Connections Between Gender, Sexuality, and the State, Edna Keeble stresses that prostitution, through its immediate association with exploitation, remains a widely criticized practice to this day. This association, however, is far too simplistic and undermines the agency of women who willingly choose to engage in sex work by automatically deeming them victims.

Several of Shakespeare’s plays reveal the complexities of early modern national selfhood, one that demonstrated not only a clear pride in Englishness but also a delineation between English and Other, an indication that membership in the national affiliation set a person apart from outsiders, but also an idea that there was something intangible yet salient about the national community—an English quality that came from the land itself. Yet while the dramatist’s texts reveal an apparent celebration of English superiority, that ideal often lacks conviction, implying a national absence that suggests a national insecurity.

Charles Perrault’s “Little Red Riding Hood” (1697) and Angela Carter’s “The Company of Wolves” (1979) are two contrasting depictions of a young girl’s encounter with a wolf. In both cases, the encounter symbolizes the loss of the girl's virginity. While, in Perrault’s work, this sexual encounter leads to the young girl’s demise, Carter associates it with her fulfillment. These varying depictions of pleasure, which both hold valuable insight on the expression of female sexuality, are made evident within the stories through the young girl’s identification with her cape, the extent to which homogeneity exists between man and wolf, and the power dynamic between beast and child.

Writers have long worried that their work will be misinterpreted by their audiences. Authorial intent, regardless of how it might be dismissed by twentieth-century and contemporary theorists, has been paramount to writers throughout history. Geoffrey Chaucer is one of them. His short poem, “Chaucers Wordes unto Adam, His Owne Scriveyn,” directly addresses this issue. His other works are also indicative of this anxiety, foremost Troilus and Criseyde.

The relative weakness of Irish language print culture was a key contributing factor to what has been described as “one of the most rapid and total language shifts in modern European history.” Despite its status as the oldest living written vernacular language in western Europe, with a rich corpus of extant manuscripts dating back to the seventh century, print in Irish Gaelic was notable for its low output, a situation which persists to this day and which has continued to have a negative effect on language maintenance.

Within the context of the discriminatory practices and ideologies of the Third Reich, the prostitute is "the most emblematic of deviants."[1] The history of prostitutes under Nazi rule constitutes the intersection of a multitude of ethical, sexual, racial, political and historiographical issues.

Across Poland, 1956 was a remarkable year of protest against the hegemony of the Soviets and progress as Poles demanded reasonable changes within their system which gave way to significant reforms.

Across Poland, 1956 was a remarkable year of protest against the hegemony of the Soviets and progress as Poles demanded reasonable changes within their system which gave way to significant reforms.

The Roman Republic during the first century BC was marked by multiple periods of instability and political chaos, as well numerous civil wars, which together brought about a major shift in the traditional sources for political support in the Roman world.

Geologically, the cave is a transitional place from above to below, from light to dark, from the known to the uncharted. Metaphorically it is a journey from the surface of naiveté to the depths of knowledge and renewal.

Since its initial publication in 1798, Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner has been both condemned and celebrated for its fundamental inscrutability. While many critics have dismissed the ballad as "deranged and incoherent" (Stokes 3), others have endeavored to construct interpretive narratives and decipher Coleridge's intent.

According to one Spanish proverb, "Not everything is a man that pisses on a wall, after all, dogs piss too."[1] Despite its vulgarity, this aphorism astutely encapsulates how masculinity was roughly defined in the early modern era, spanning from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries.

Buddhism has long been acknowledged for its concern with the welfare of all beings and its concentration on the continued care of the natural world. Buddhist philosophy offers a sense of connection between oneself and all other beings of the earth, and a compassion for this relationship.

Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel Lolita is troubling because it deals with the incendiary social problem of pedophilia in a cryptic and manipulative manner which has led many readers to condone, rather than condemn, the damaging sexual disorder.

Identified most readily through its characteristic forms and clichés, metatheatre is ultimately concerned with self-consciously establishing itself as both performance and theatre.