46622 research outputs found
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Passivisation in Semitic, Iranian, Armenian, and Beyond
No full textThis volume brings together research on passive voice constructions in low-resource languages of Western Asia, a region marked by extraordinary linguistic diversity as well as a long history of cultural suppression and marginalisation. The contributions showcase the passive voice in Semitic, Iranian, Armenian, Greek, and Turkic languages, many of which are endangered, understudied, or confined to diaspora communities and disappearing language islands. Education and cultural expression in these languages remained heavily restricted across parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, underscoring the urgent need for documentation and revitalisation. The chapters explore the rich typological variation of passive voice constructions, examining their typological traits, synchronic microvariation and diachronic developments. Drawing on Siewierska’s definition, the studies investigate processes of agent demotion and patient promotion, reductions in transitivity, and the fuzzy boundaries between passive and other detransitivisation strategies such as middles, anticausatives, statives and light verbs as well as impersonal subjects and agent omission. They also shed light on the impact of text genre, verbal aspect, and language contact on passivisation. By integrating theoretical, typological, historical, and areal perspectives, the volume discusses the internal stability of detransitivisation strategies, their evolution from earlier source constructions, and their position in voice systems more broadly. It raises fundamental questions about whether cross-linguistic tendencies in passives reflect universal patterns or area-specific historical contingencies. This collection thus provides an essential resource for scholars of all theoretical persuasions that are interested in voice and valency and/or in Western Asia’s linguistic diversity, while foregrounding the pressing need to support communities whose linguistic heritage is at risk
Managing Disruption and Developing Resilience for a Better Southeast Asia
No full textThis open access book, stemming from the biennial Consortium for Southeast Asian Studies in Asia conference, confronts numerous contemporary issues in the Southeast Asia region, under the banner of the 2022 theme “Managing Disruption, Developing Resilience for a Better Southeast Asia.” Providing a platform for discussion and collaboration in the fields of sociology, education, population studies, cultural studies, public health, international relations, and other humanities and social science disciplines, the range of interdisciplinary chapters focus their critical analyses vis-à-vis the interpellation of economic, social, historical, artistic, cultural, religious, and political viewpoints. Organized into three sections, the first looks at new models of economic development, the challenges to education quality, the labor market in the digital era, and the demographic changes and critical issues facing both the young and elderly in the region. The second examines disasters as a future challenge for risk management, understandings of contemporary society and culture, the digital humanities, social development in the time of COVID-19, and identities in relation to religion, minorities, and social harmony. The final section addresses diaspora, migration, the region in the pandemic, citizenship and human security, democracy, and human rights, as well as foreign policy, diplomacy, and state sovereignty in Southeast Asia. As ASEAN comes of age, there has never been a more compelling need to provide region-based perspectives to complement the deepening economic, social, and cultural integration in the region. For scholars working on Southeast Asia, “area” matters in geopolitical, economic, intellectual, institutional, social, cultural, and affective terms, and so this book transports the study of Southeast Asia from the periphery to the center, so as to enable scholars who live in and research the region to bring their research to a global readership. Relevant to scholars, public intellectuals, policy-makers, and activists working in all areas of the social sciences and humanities, this comprehensive book presents the very latest research on, and from, Southeast Asia
Chapter Thinking What We Want: A Moral Right to Acquire Control over our Thoughts
No full textOur ability to exert control over our thoughts is limited. Thoughts come into our awareness without our choosing or willing that they do. We are also often unable to change the content of our thoughts by force of will alone. Emerging psychological techniques and neurotechnologies may allow us to acquire greater control over our thoughts. This chapter examines whether we have a moral right to acquire such control. We suggest that people have a strong and deeply personal interest in having control over their own thoughts and argue that this interest plausibly grounds such a moral right. However, we also argue that this moral right is limited in scope; it does not extend to all cases in which the right-holder seeks to acquire mental control that they will exercise in duty-infringing ways
Mediterranean Media Systems in the Age of Unrest
No full textFocusing on an oft-neglected geographical region of study, this book critically analyses the state of journalism in the European South and considers challenges that may indicate a profession under duress.
Focusing on three Mediterranean media systems, Greece, Cyprus, and Malta, this book summarizes the basic characteristics, threats, and challenges for journalism in the region. The book first examines the “North-South” divide in Europe and the challenges Mediterranean media systems have faced in recent years. It then analyzes points of dispute for journalism, such as press freedom, investigative reporting, corruption, post-crisis economic challenges, and the evolving dilemmas of journalism ethics. The second section of the book looks more closely at the three case studies, using data extracted over a turbulent 20-year timeframe up until 2023. Based on a mixed-methods approach, the study comprises findings of interviews with journalists in the three countries under study and time series analysis of feedback regarding challenges discussed earlier in the book. The book concludes on whether journalism today is indeed under attack and reflects critically on what are the main threats that have emerged in media systems of the Mediterranean region.
This book will be of particular interest to scholars and researchers of journalism and media systems in Europe, although also bears implications for anyone studying wider issues of press freedom and journalism practice
Chapter 9 Other artistic encounters
No full textThis study offers a fresh perspective on Ali Smith’s work, analysing her fiction through a truly interdisciplinary lens. José I. Prieto-Arranz explores Smith’s engagement with contemporary issues such as digital violence, disinformation, pornography, nationalism, climate change, discrimination, and social fracture. Simultaneously, this book examines Smith’s unique stylistic choices, including her use of magical realism, intertextuality, and intermediality, to reveal the intricate connection between the ethical and aesthetic dimensions of her novels. Through close readings of Smith’s novels, from Like to Companion Piece, enriched with insights from her prolific short fiction, the author demonstrates how Smith constructs a “text continuum,” revealing recurrent themes and stylistic choices that underline her firm belief in the transformative power of fiction and, by extension, art. This book will appeal to scholars of contemporary literature, art theory, political science, sociology and cultural studies, and anyone interested in literature and social commentary
The Routledge Handbook of Information History
No full textThe Routledge Handbook of Information History offers a definitive, inclusive, and far-reaching study of how information practices have influenced—and have been influenced by—society, politics, culture, and technology over millennia.
Information is often considered a defining characteristic of modern society, but it is far from a modern phenomenon. In the last decades, historians have started to ask new questions about how information was understood in the past, suggesting that it has a history which is long, complex, and multifaceted. This influential volume is the first large-scale collection to use the term Information History as its titular focus, situating ""information"" within the historiography of the field.The boo showcases a diverse assembly of over forty international contributors who explore information practices from antiquity to the contemporary world, with geographical coverage ranging accoss Europe, Africa, Asia, as well as North and South America.
Including overview chapters alongside a wide range of in-depth empirical studies, this ground-breaking collection will appeal to scholars and students across the arts, humanities, and social sciences, offering readers unique insights into how historical practices have influenced the understanding and role of information in our modern world