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Lanterne nel buio digitale: Riconquistare l’autorità e gli archivi di dissenso di Amitav Ghosh contro la cultura degli influencer: Riconquistare l'autorità e gli archivi di dissenso di Amitav Ghosh contro la cultura degli influencer
No full textABSTRACT · Lanterns in the Digital Dark: Reclaiming Authority and Amitav Ghosh’s Archives of Dissent Against Influencers Culture. This article responds to two primary objectives: first, delving into the problem of cultural authority in the digital age, second, intellectuals’ and writers’ responses to authority crisis as they embrace and make their way through the digital environment. Thus, the article juxtaposes the emergence of conformist influencers—new “priests” of superficial materialism—with writers’ enduring function as critical intellectuals. Based on the scholarship of thinkers such as Edward Said, Michel Foucault, and Jacques Derrida, this thesis argues that even as social media incentivizes virality and instant consumption, thoughtful authors are consciously occupying digital space to construct richer and more nuanced discourse. Using as case study Amitav Ghosh’s online presence, this article demonstrates how committed and engaged writers today can build rich, interactive archives that wed intellectual depth to digital reach. Ghosh’s website, examined through the lens of Derrida’s conception of the archive as an expression of a specific type of power, is more than a holding cell of information, rather it is also a place of continued cultural conversation and active engagement, a counterpoint to the emptiness of influencer culture.
ABSTRACT · Lanterns in the Digital Dark: Reclaiming Authority and Amitav Ghosh’s Archives of Dissent Against Influencers Culture. This article responds to two primary objectives: first, delving into the problem of cultural authority in the digital age, second, intellectuals’ and writers’ responses to authority crisis as they embrace and make their way through the digital environment. Thus, the article juxtaposes the emergence of conformist influencers—new “priests” of superficial materialism—with writers’ enduring function as critical intellectuals. Based on the scholarship of thinkers such as Edward Said, Michel Foucault, and Jacques Derrida, this thesis argues that even as social media incentivizes virality and instant consumption, thoughtful authors are consciously occupying digital space to construct richer and more nuanced discourse. Using as case study Amitav Ghosh’s online presence, this article demonstrates how committed and engaged writers today can build rich, interactive archives that wed intellectual depth to digital reach. Ghosh’s website, examined through the lens of Derrida’s conception of the archive as an expression of a specific type of power, is more than a holding cell of information, rather it is also a place of continued cultural conversation and active engagement, a counterpoint to the emptiness of influencer culture
Can animal characters be ‘receptacles of rasa’? An overview of the positions held on this issue in classical Indian treatises on poetics
No full textIn classical Indian aesthetics, the ultimate goal of kāvya (dramatic and literary art) is the arousal of aesthetic experience, called rasa (‘juice’) in Sanskrit. A fundamental role in this process is played by the characters in the works, as some theorists place in them the locus of manifestation of rasa, while others consider them the necessary medium through which rasa is aroused in the spectator/reader. As a rule, Indian theory admits only human characters to this process, sometimes also semi-divine or divine characters; however, there are cases in which it seems clear that the role of receptacle of rasa is played by characters in animal form. This article presents an overview of the views of leading pre-modern Indian theorists on the admissibility of an animal character being the locus of rasa
Illicit devotion: Priests for a day, snake charmers for a lifetime
No full textThe Kalbeliya caste is closely and, in many ways, associated with the snake, specifically the cobra. The social, economic, cultural, and religious profile of the caste, also known by the names Sapera and Nath, is defined, in part or whole, by its relationship with the cobra. Although other forms of employment have greatly replaced the traditional profession of snake charmers associated with the caste, the connection with the snake remains strong. Even in its new configuration as a caste of musicians and dancers, the community has retained its connection to the cobra, which is present in many aspects of Kalbeliyas’ artistic performance. Moreover, although Indian law has made snake charming illegal, the traditional profession of snake charmers is still part of the caste's economic strategies and socio-cultural profile. Generally associated with mendicancy, snake charmers' profession also involves ritual skills, which are typically required at the Nāg-pañcamī (Snake’s Fifth) festival, a minor festival celebrated throughout North India on the fifth day of the light half of the Hindu month Sāvan (Śrāvaña). In this paper, after discussing the role of the cobra in defining the past and present socio-cultural profile of the caste, I will attempt to outline the role of the Kalbeliyas in Nāg-pañcamī celebration in Rajasthan
Telling the real: Literary reportage in contemporary Arabic literature
No full textThe objective of this paper is to delineate the recent evolution and innovations of literary reportage in contemporary Arabic literature, a genre of considerable significance for a number of reasons, primarily due to its capacity to engender a novel form of engagement. The paper seeks to furnish an overview of select reportages composed within the last two decades by writers who have employed this genre to investigate the connections between the creative word and committed journalism, between fiction and truth. The paper will then focus on the role of literary reportage in war situations, where it functions as a counter-narrative, emphasising the inescapable role of the written word in situations of violence and dehumanisation. 
L'utilizzo dei droni come misura di prevenzione antinfortunistica: un tentativo di oggettivizzazione della regola cautelare
No full textLa figura del tecnico della prevenzione nell’ambiente e nei luoghi di lavoro (TPALL) è esposta a fattori di rischio tipici della professione che il datore di lavoro ha l’obbligo di prevenire per tutelarne l’incolumità fisica.Durante attività ad alto rischio, la presenza fisica dell’operatore è resa, ad oggi, necessaria. I vantaggi apportati dall’evoluzione tecnologica hanno permesso l’utilizzo di strumenti economicamente accessibili ad una più ampiaplatea. Nello specifico, l’impiego dei droni ha subito una crescita esponenziale per diversi scopi, scontrandosi con una realtà normativa spesso ostativa. L’approccio innovativo di questo studio consiste nell’oggettivare le regole di cautela in ambito di responsabilità colposa, valutando la possibilità di rendere obbligatorio l’utilizzo dei droni a supporto dell’operato fisico del TPALL come misura antinfortunistica
Lavorare insieme per un grande sogno: alle origini della funzione pubblica europea
No full textL’articolo riprende il testo dell’intervento tenuto dall’autore a Torino il 7 giugno 2024 in occasione dell’incontro su Il sogno europeo nel quadro delle manifestazioni di Archivissima 2024. Si è cercato di ricostruire in che modo si sia costituita la comunità dei primi funzionari europei e se e quanto questa abbia potuto rappresentare il primo esempio di cittadinanza europea sia pure sui generis.L’articolo riprende il testo dell’intervento tenuto dall’autore a Torino il 7 giugno 2024 in occasione dell’incontro su Il sogno europeo nel quadro delle manifestazioni di Archivissima 2024. Si è cercato di ricostruire in che modo si sia costituita la comunità dei primi funzionari europei e se e quanto questa abbia potuto rappresentare il primo esempio di cittadinanza europea sia pure sui generis
EU Colonial Amnesia as a Bridge: Connecting EU-African Relations and African Minorities Discrimination
No full textThis article investigates the role of the lack of historical memory of colonialism in shaping relations between the European Union (EU) and Sub-Saharan Africa. In this regard, an internal and an international perspective have been brought together, as an analysis of the impact of the lingering colonial culture on minority discrimination within the EU should also consider the development of reciprocal relations on a foreign level.
Methodologically, African-origin immigration towards the EU and the protection of fundamental human rights within and beyond European borders served as two concrete examples to explore this interconnection. In both instances, the concerns affecting domestic dynamics were also the most disputed between African and European representatives during international negotiations throughout different frameworks and decades.
On the one hand, the continuous sources of conflict that overcome economic and strategic interests in the dialogue between the European Union and African countries have made it necessary to address the underlying causes of racism and persisting mutual stereotypes. Indeed, different views on migration management and human rights protection hinder an equal dialogue between Europe and Africa, unveiling divisions that cannot be solved through pragmatic solutions. Besides, on the internal level, the resurgence of racist incidents in European cities and the ideological turn that speeches take when dealing with African-origin minorities shows the need to reflect upon the long-term obstacles lying behind reciprocal misunderstandings
Narrative Cartographies of Native American Resurgence:: Women’s Self-Constructions, Transmotion, and the Decolonization of Spatial Inquiry
No full textDrawing on a long-standing history of leadership within their communities, Native American women have become increasingly prominent in the movement for Indigenous resurgence including, but not limited to, their re-articulation of the connection with land. In this paper, I discuss Native American women’s literary cartographies as a strategy towards spatial decolonization, in line with Native American resurgence, a project that aligns with what Linda Tuhiwai Smith (1999) refers to as a shift from being reviewed as research objects to becoming their own researchers. In their self-narratives, Indigenous authors connect such mapping practices to exploring overlying stories—familial, ancestral, historical, and spiritual—that mark autobiographical moments that “take place.” Thematically speaking, the motif of the journey and constant movement can be read as “an attempt to counter, even symbolically reverse, earlier historical displacement of the authors’ respective cultural groups” (Sarkowsky 2020). This paper provides a glimpse into alternative ways to map Indigenous embodied experiences in 21st-century memoirs by Native American female authors—Harjo, Jensen, Elliott, Washuta, and Grover—who adopt renewed representational strategies, utilizing various forms of literary mapping techniques, re-representing their own experiences of land through a complex geography of ties to places, movement, and mobility in textual contexts. Grounding the article in Indigenous feminist place-based and land-based readings that center Indigenous women’s voices at the forefront of struggles for self-determination and sovereignty, and in Vizenor’s oft-quoted notions of survivance and transmotion, I argue that the interplay between movement and rootedness is crucial in these life storiers’ engagement with conceptions of land and place that grapple with the American understanding of territoriality. Women’s life writings serve as oppositional mappings of Western-centered cartographies, thus providing a re-righting and rewriting of sovereign stories. The findings of this analysis hope to enrich the discussion of the decolonization of spatial inquiry and, by extension, Indigenous resurgence
Decentralised law enforcement: A case study of Ethereum’s proof of stake mechanism for moderation practices
No full textThis paper examines the evolving role of the Ethereum blockchain's consensus layer as a potential tool for decentralised law enforcement, with a focus on its Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism and its implications for moderation practices. While it was traditionally designed for credible neutrality, Ethereum's consensus layer is now facing increasing pressure to assist in regulatory enforcement, particularly concerning the U.S. OFAC sanction list. This shift raises fundamental questions about whether a decentralised platform can effectively meet regulatory requirements without compromising its core principles of transparency, security, decentralisation and censorship resistance. This paper dives into the roles and incentives of actors in the consensus mechanism, with a main focus on builders, relays and validators. It also looks into the complexities introduced by Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) and the Proposer-Builder Separation (PBS). The paper critically assesses Ethereum's potential to function as a regulatory enforcement tool by discussing its inherent limitations, the current stance on adhering to OFAC sanction lists, and other relevant decision-making factors. It also considers the risks associated with leveraging this decentralised platform for regulatory purposes, including the potential for unintended consequences such as privacy and security concerns, and the erosion of core values. Ultimately, this paper aims to provide insights into whether Ethereum can effectively be leveraged as a regulatory enforcement technology while maintaining its fundamental attributes. We find that Ethereum can leverage compliance to a certain degree, particularly through mechanisms that incentivise validators to exclude sanctioned transactions, and with simple regulation to adhere to. However, the platform's decentralised nature and commitment to censorship resistance means that complete alignment with traditional regulatory frameworks is unlikely. This highlights the fundamental trade-offs that are inherent to attempting to impose centralised control on a decentralised system