Browsing by Subject "cultural studies"

Categorization and taxonomy are topical issues in intertextuality studies. Instead of increasing the number of overlapping or contradictory definitions (often established with reference to limited databases) which exist even for key concepts such as "allusion " or "quotation", we propose an electronically implemented data-driven approach based on the isolation, analysis and description of a number of relevant parameters such as general text relation, marking for quotation, modification etc. If a systematic parameter analysis precedes discussions of possible correlations and the naming of features bundles as composite categories, a dynamic approach to categorization emerges which does justice to the varied and complex phenomena in this field. The database is the HyperHamlet corpus, a chronologically and generically wide-ranging collection of Hamlet references that confront linguistic and literary researchers with a comprehensive range of formal and stylistic issues. Its multi-dimensional encodings and search facilities provide the indispensable ‘freedom from the analytic limits of hardcopy', as Jerome McGann put it. The methodological and heuristic gains include a more complete description of possible parameter settings, a clearer recognition of multiple parameter settings (as implicit in existing genre definitions), a better understanding of how parameters interact, descriptions of disregarded literary phenomena that feature unusual parameter combinations and, finally, descriptive labels for the most polysemous areas that may clarify matters without increasing taxonomical excess.

In the domain of education, myths and misconceptions function as invisible barriers, impeding evidence-based teaching and learning practices. Despite robust refutation, these so-called zombie concepts persist, deeply embedded within cultural and institutional frameworks, often making mythbusting seem like a Sisyphean task. This blog post, I examine the dual nature of mythbusting in education: its perceived futility and its undeniable necessity. I argue that while debunking myths is daunting and often feels akin to a battle against windmills, it remains a critical endeavor to foster evidence-informed practices. I outline some challenges involved in changing entrenched misbeliefs but at the same time propose some strategies to mythbusting, such as targeting the undecided middle, fostering mental immunity, and prioritizing the most harmful/impactful myths.

The Futurist movement marked a crucial rupture within European literature and art. For all its political and cultural contradictions, Italian Futurism called into question all aspects of literary and artistic production, from the sacrality and eternalness of the work of art to the privileged role of the artist and the passivity of the reader and the spectator.

Since the second half of the 2000s, relations between Russia and Estonia have been steadily declining. This has also had an effect on the relationship between the Estonian majority and the Russophone minority in Estonia. Additionally, the situation is negatively affected by the influence of the Russian media. The Russian-speaking minority, however, is not to be viewed as a mere agent of Moscow in Estonia, but appears as an independent protagonist in a three-cornered relationship.

This article criticizes the role of intellectuals in the process of social and political change in contemporary Georgia.

The effects of blogging and Internet use on Chinese politics and society have been a hotly debated topic in contemporary Chinese studies. Blogging first became popular in China in 2003 when the notorious online intimate diary of a young woman called Muzi Mei (b. 1978) created a scandal among China's netizens. After more than a decade we can start to assess the implications of these practices for the longue durée of intellectual life and cultural creativity in the country.