Present day anti-refugee and anti-immigrant rhetoric both in European countries and in the USA makes reference both to shared tropes and to culture-specific rhetoric devices. The paper analyzes four instances of Polish rabid anti-refugee rhetoric that is eminently country specific: they invoke Holocaust scenario as the means of dealing with the refugee question, should they appear on Polish soil, and specifically suggest exterminating them in former Nazi death camps. The analysis is carried out within the Conceptual Integration Theory, amended by (...) the Author with the notion of parasitic blends: these are said to occur when audiences recruit into the blend some elements of the two input spaces that were not intended to be recruited and come up with an emergent meaning that differ from the intended one. It is claimed that such possibility is actually built into CIT and explains why some of the criticism of CIT claims blends’ non-predictability and generally ex-post character of most analyses found in relevant literature. (shrink)

The paper presents Josefina Niggli, an American mid-twentieth-century writer who was born and grew up in Mexico, and her novel Mexican Village. A connoisseur of Mexican culture and tradition, and at the same time conscious of the stereotypical perceptions of Mexico in the United States, Niggli saw it as her literary goal to “reveal” the “true” Mexico as she remembered it to her American readers. Somewhat forgotten for several decades, Niggli, preoccupied with issues of marginalization, hybridization, and ambiguity, is now (...) becoming of interest to literary critics as a forerunner of Chicano/a literature. In her novel Mexican Village, set in the times of the Mexican Revolution, she creates a prototypical bicultural and bilingual Chicano protagonist, who becomes witness to the rise of Mexico’s modern national identity. (shrink)

In American ethnic literature of the last three decades of the 20th century, recurrent themes of mobility, travel, and “homing in” are emblematic of the search for identity. In this essay, which discusses three short stories, Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use,” Louise Erdrich’s “The World’s Greatest Fishermen,” and Daniel Chacon’s “The Biggest City in the World,” I attempt to demonstrate that as a consequence of technological development, with travel becoming increasingly accessible to ethnic Americans, their search for identity assumes wider range, (...) transcending national and cultural boundaries. (shrink)

Jonathan Dancy works within almost all fields of philosophy but is best known as the leading proponent of moral particularism. Particularism challenges “traditional” moral theories, such as Contractualism, Kantianism and Utilitarianism, in that it denies that moral thought and judgement relies upon, or is made possible by, a set of more or less well-defined, hierarchical principles. During the summer of 2006, the Philosophy Departments of Lund University (Sweden) and the University of Reading (England) began a series of exchanges to take (...) place every other year, alternating between the departments. Andreas Lind and Johan Brännmark arranged to meet Dancy during the first meeting in Lund to talk about questions regarding particularism, moral theory and the shape of the analytical tradition. The major part of the conversation is printed below. (shrink)

Two streams of political thought will be presented: metaphysics of State and metaphysics of Power . An impact of globalization concealing both traditions will be analyzed, with the present evolution of European Union as an example. Structural violence will be shown in a post-communist context.

Treścią artykułu jest charakterystyka cech swoistych polskiej wersji modernizmu. Analiza polskiej myśli estetycznej z przełomu XIX i XX w. wskazuje, że program polskich modernistów niesłusznie utożsamia się z estetyzmem. Wydaje się, że modernistycznego odwrotu od rzeczywistości nie należy traktować jedynie jako ucieczki od skomplikowanych problemów ówczesnej codzienności. Równie uprawnione jest interpretowanie go jako sposobu wiodącego do zachowania wartości humanistycznych, które zatraciły się w otaczającej artystów rzeczywistości. Aksjologię modernistów uzasadniało założenie o monistycznym charakterze bytu. Jego naturalną konsekwencją było traktowanie sztuki - (...) ze względu na jej cechy - jako jedynego rodzaju działalności ludzkiej, który umożliwia kontakt z Absolutem. Bowiem zbliżenie do istoty rzeczy jest możliwe jedynie poprzez dzieło sztuki stanowiące przekaz wartości absolutnych. Wysoka ranga twórczości wynika z faktu, iż wartości te są zapośredniczone w duszy twórcy. (shrink)

Δημοσίευση δυό επιγραφών του Έθνικοΰ Μουσείου της Βαρσοβίας. Ή πρώτη είναι « επιτάφιος συντρόφου » δηλαδή ενός « θρεπτου », στον όποιο οι συμφοιτητές του ανέγειραν ένα ταπεινό ταφικό μνημείο. Ό λίθος προέρχεται πιθανόν άπό τή Φρυγία των αυτοκρατορικών χρόνων, καί άπό περιβάλλον επηρεασμένο πολιτιστικά άπό τή Ρώμη. Ή δεύτερη επιγραφή μας παρουσιάζει μιά οικογένεια άπό τή Φρυγία μέ τό δνομα Sestullii, σπουδαία οικογένεια, γνωστή χάρη στίς μελέτες του Mitchell. Πρόκειται χωρίς αμφιβολία γιά απελεύθερους πού έχτισαν οσο ζούσαν έναν οικογενειακό (...) τάφο-ήρώον. (shrink)

The aim of the paper is to compare four versions of the text of Waitingfor Godot: the French original, Beckett’s own translation into English and two Polish renderings done by Julian Rogoziński and Antoni Libera. The article starts with a short discussion concerning rules governing the translation process and then its evaluation. While working on the transposition of the French original into English, Beckett introduced numerous changes, this being due to his sensitivity to the very quality of each of the (...) languages and specific references characteristic of the two cultures. Antoni Libera, an expert in Beckett’s oeuvre, argues that Beckett’s translations should be more adequately described as second language versions and that the artist recommended further translations based on his two language versions. Libera himself followed this recommendation while translating Beckett’s works into Polish. Upon publication, he provided illuminating notes, shedding light on the differences in Beckett’s versions and providing critical insight into the texts. Julian Rogoziński, on the other hand, based his translation of Waiting for Godot only on the French original. This accounts for the fact that, at times, his rendering of the text lacks precision and may not even be quite understandable. Rogoziński’s version is less satisfactory than that of Libera due to the fact that it was written earlier and by an older man, which at times results in the use of old-fashioned, outdated Polish diction and structures. (shrink)

The expression “Pinteresque” describing the characteristic features of Harold Pinter’s artistic output, established its position as a literary critical denominator many years ago. The aim of this article is to analyze some of the specific aspects of the playwright’s use of language. On several occasions, the artist made comments pertaining to certain issues concerning communication. He rejected the idea of the alienation of language and promoted the concept of evasive communication, thus showing people’s unwillingness to communicate. He also spoke about (...) two kinds of silence, the first referring to a situation where there is actual silence, when “no word is spoken,” and the second, when “a torrent of language is being employed” in order to cover the character’s “nakedness.” Accordingly, Pinter’s plays may, depending on their perspective, be treated as dramas of language or of silence. This led Peter Hall, Pinter’s favourite theatre director and also a close friend, to notice that in the playwright’s oeuvre there is a clear distinction beween three dots, a pause and a silence. This article discusses in detail the uneven distribution of pauses and silences in Harold Pinter’s 1977 play, Betrayal. It becomes evident that the use of different kinds of silence clearly indicates the emotional state of the characters at any given moment. (shrink)

This commentary focuses on the role played by constructions of women's violence in the maintenance of male control over women. While actual women's violence tends to be denied, pathologized or minimized, cultural constructions (particularly in the media) of women's violence tend to demonize it. Both of these androcentric cultural processes fail to illuminate the actual sources of the gender gap in violent behavior and instead tend to normalize male aggression and to cultivate female passivity.

Few studies of gangs have explored both ethnic and gender variations in the experience of gang membership. Based on an analysis of interviews with 48 youth from a number of ethnic gangs in Hawaii, this article explores boys' and girls' reasons for joining gangs. The results suggest that although gang members face common problems, they deal with these in ways that are uniquely informed by gender and ethnicity. The interviews also confirm that extensive concern about violent criminal activities in boys' (...) gangs has distracted researchers from exploring the wide range of activities and experiences gangs provide their members. Girls and boys growing up in poor and violent neighborhoods turn to the gangs for many reasons, and the gangs themselves take on a variety of forms in response to the diverse challenges facing their members. Most important, the interviews reveal that girls and boys, even those in the same ethnic groups, inhabit worlds that are heavily influenced by gender. As a result, male and female gangs tend to provide different sets of experiences, skill, and opportunities to their members. (shrink)

Artykuł jest współczesnym odniesieniem do tezy Wittgensteina, iż „granice mego języka są granicami mojego świata”. Konsumpcjonizm w połączeniu z liberalizmem oraz kulturą masową prowadzą do merkantylizacji i obiektywizacji świata i człowieka, do mentalności pragmatycznej i odpowiednich form ekspresji, których głównymi wyróżnikami są: ograniczenie człowieka do funkcji ekonomicznych oraz użytkowych. Pociągają za sobą zubożenie i pospolitość słownictwa oraz są związane z ogólną tendencją do trywializacji, np. wulgaryzacji mowy i słowa pisanego, szczególnie rażących w obliczu „estetyzacji życia”. Wiedzie to do wniosku, że (...) ten estetyzm jest jedynie powierzchowny i niekonsekwentny. Jednocześnie należy przestrzec przed ignorowaniem etycznych aspektów mowy i pisma. Może ono być niebezpieczne ze względu na siłę oddziaływania języka. Stanowi nie tylko formę upodlenia i znikczemnienia, lecz także głębokiej degradacji człowieczeństwa w człowieku. (shrink)

The following will analyze a surprising symmetry between the Leninist mode of reasoning and Solidarity's behavior with the help of Lévi-Strauss' notion of bricolage and Besançon's concept of “surreality.” A basic dualism pervades both communist ideology, i.e., the Leninist interpretation of Marxism, and everyday consciousness in “really existing socialist” societies. This dualism will be counterposed to a two-level thought, in which the world of ideas and the world of things are qualitatively different. This approach obviously clashes with the conventional wisdom (...) on the subject, both in Eastern Europe and in the West. Thus, it is claimed that, e.g., liberal or neo-conservative themes appear both in Poland and in the West. (shrink)

We dedicate this book to John Thibaut. He was mentor and personal friend to one of us, and his work had a profound intellectual influence on both of us. We were both strongly influenced by Thibaut's insightful articulation of the importance to psychology of the concept of pro cedural justice and by his empirical work with Laurens Walker in reactions to legal institu demonstrating the role of procedural justice tions. The great importance we accord the Thibaut and Walker work is (...) evident throughout this volume. If anyone person can be said to have created an entire field of inquiry, John Thibaut created the psychological study of procedural justice. (To honor Thibaut thus in no sense reduces our recognition of the contributions of his co-worker, Laurens Walker, in the creation of the field. We are as certain that Walker would endorse our statement as we are that Thibaut, with characteristic modesty, would demur from it. ) Even to praise Thibaut in this fashion falls short of recognizing all of his contributions to procedural justice. Not only did he initiate the psy chological study of the topic, he also built much of the intellectual foun dation upon which the study of procedural justice rests. Thibaut's work with Harold Kelley (1959; Kelley & Thibaut, 1978) created a social psy chological theory of interdependence that, among many other applica tions, serves as the basis for one of the major models of the psychology of procedural justice. (shrink)

The article analyzes the world of transience, deterioration and death characteristic of Boghill, the place of action of Samuel Beckett’s short radio play-All That Fall. In a broadcast drama, existence is equivalent to being heard, the idea skilfully employed and commented upon by the playwright. The characters actually heard in the play are in most cases elderly or quite old and even the two young ones appear in the context of death. Numerous off-the-air individuals are dead, sterile or suffering from (...) different illnesses. The two main characters’ situation is not different-Mr Rooney is blind, and his wife, Maddy, complains of many ailments. She is a woman in her seventies, overweight and having different kinds of health problems and thus, several times in the course of the play she expresses a wish to die. At the same time, however, in encounters with men on her way to the station she speaks in a manner characterized by numerous sexual innuendos. Furthermore, she expresses a strong yearning for love and hopes her unloving husband would show her some warm feelings. Thus she becomes a convincing illustration of Georges Bataille’s argument: “Eroticism, it may be said, is assenting to life up to the point of death”. (shrink)

Many of Beckett characters suffer from different kinds of disabilities and impairments, this being one of the ways of punishing them for “the eternal sin of having been born.” The article discusses blindness in Waiting for Godot, Endgame and All That Fall. In the first of these plays blindness afflicts Pozzo during the interval between the two acts, that is during a single night. Combined with the loss of his watch it is indicative of his entering the subjective realm of (...) timelessness. The blindness of Hamm in Endgame and his inability to walk make him dependant on Clov who is unable to sit, which recalls Pozzo’s dependence on Lucky in the second act. Similarly, the blind Mr Rooney also must get help from other people to be able to move around. In the case of all three plays blindness must be perceived on a literal, as well as metaphorical level. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Response to Louise Pascale, “Dispelling the Myth of the Non-Singer: Embracing Two Aesthetics for Singing”Vicki R. LindIn "Dispelling the Myth of the Non-Singer: Embracing Two Aesthetics for Singing," Louise Pascale explores classroom teachers' beliefs about singing. Specifically, she looks at possible reasons why many classroom teachers who have been raised in the Western traditions of music-making do not feel comfortable singing. As a vocal music education professor and an (...) avid singer, this is a topic near and dear to my heart. My image of a vibrant elementary classroom, rooted in my experiences as a student and later as an elementary music teacher, includes singing. If, as Pascale notes, there is a growing number of teachers who define themselves as "non-singers" and who, because of this, do not include music in the classroom, there is indeed reason for alarm.As I read the introductory paragraph of this paper I immediately thought of elementary teachers who had at one time or another been labeled as "tone deaf" and who had allowed an early negative singing experience to cause them to believe they could not sing. Pascale challenged this simple explanation of the non-singer and made a strong case for a more thorough investigation of the problem.Pascale began her investigation by conducting a series of interviews with people who believed they could not sing. She found a variety of reasons for the self-proclaimed non-singers negative self image including: 1) never being selected to sing a solo; 2) not being able to lead songs, and 3) not singing in tune. Pascale used the story of a young Barbados woman, Onika, as an illustration of how these experiences could be linked to Western music traditions. Onika was born in Barbados but moved to the United States at the age of four. This young woman considered herself a singer in her native country but a non-singer in America. Onika felt she was a singer in Barbados because she enjoyed singing music in the Solka tradition; the music was fun, moved fast, and she could sing along without being concerned about how she sounded. She described herself as a non-singer in the United States because she was not able to lead songs and did not have a strong voice.I agree that the conventional Western view of music in the schools is rooted in classical traditions that value performance, perfection, and virtuosity and that these views may lead to the above mentioned assumptions regarding singing. I question, however, whether this conventional view permeates the beliefs of those [End Page 200] outside of the traditional music education circle. Onika's experiences with music in Barbados seemed to be very natural, a part of life; her experiences with music in the United States seemed limited to formal experiences in church or school settings. It would be interesting to investigate whether the dichotomy is between two cultures, the United States and Barbados, or between two different ways of experiencing music, in school and in everyday life.The main body of Pascale's work is the description of two aesthetics for singing, Aesthetic A, the classical Western tradition and Aesthetic B, a broader, multi-dimensional perspective. The list of characteristics differentiating Aesthetic A and Aesthetic B relate to the teaching of music, the process of music education. Emphasizing product and performance, stressing the importance of skill building and relying on classical repertoire are characteristics related to the traditional viewpoint, or Aesthetic A. These characteristics are contrasted with those related to Aesthetic B; the emphasis is placed on process and participation, stress is placed on social value and feeling, and vernacular repertoire is used. Pascale makes the point that Aesthetic B is not meant to replace "traditional" thinking but is a broadening of the perspective. Two questions emerge from Pascale's two aesthetics. First, is there a commonly held "traditional" culture of singing that exists in schools today? Schools and learning populations in the United States are so diverse it is hard to imagine a single philosophy driving music education. Second, does Aesthetic B add new dimensions, or does it describe a balance that is necessary in any philosophy that... (shrink)

Theoretical works in economics usually have a core consisting of proofs that a “model-economy” has certain properties. The economist constructs a model that can be looked on as a description of an economy, and then proves that certain relations hold in this economy and/or that certain relations in this economy depend on certain specific characteristics. The model-economy is usually described as simplified or idealized.

Praca stanowi przyczynek do badań nad życiem i twórczością Ignacego Dąbrowskiego – pisarza przełomu wieków XIX i XX. Jego rękopisy, zachowane przeważnie w znakomitym stanie, zgromadziła Aniela Skórska, siostrzenica literata. Dziś przechowywane są one w zbiorach Biblioteki Narodowej. Cyzelowane i wielokrotnie poprawiane utwory stanowią świadectwo złożonego procesu twórczego, jaki towarzyszył prozaikowi w pracy nad kolejnymi dziełami. Analiza zachowanych brulionów i manuskryptów pozwala na głębsze poznanie literackiej osobowości Dąbrowskiego – postaci skrytej i introwertycznej, a uporządkowanie materiałów rękopiśmiennych pomocne będzie w odtworzeniu (...) oraz weryfikacji faktów z jego życia. (shrink)

W pracy przeanalizowano motyw melancholii jako elementu wpisanego w życie młodopolskich bohaterów literackich zmagających się z gruźlicą. Tematem dociekań jest zależność między chorobą i ograniczonością ciała a nadnaturalnie szybkim rozwojem duchowym. Niezmienność otoczenia, izolację oraz obserwację kondycji fizycznej człowieka, postrzegane przez pryzmat dyskursu maladycznego, uznano w pracy za źródło głębokiej melancholicznej autorefleksji oraz przemyśleń o zmieniającym się świecie, z którego chory jest wykluczony.