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Writing Milan and Turin in the Light of (Failed) Utopia: Luciano Bianciardi and Paolo Volponi
No full textThis article examines a series of novels by Italian writers, Luciano Bianciardi and Paolo Volponi, that capture the transformations brought about by the post-World War II economic growth in the urban-industrial society of Northern Italy. The analysis draws on utopia as, in Ruth Levitas’s words, a ‘desire for a better way of living and being’ and explores how the writers’ frustrated aspirations for social reform result in a dystopic portrayal of Milan and Turin, seen as sites of social injustice, anomie and authoritative power. Italy’s unprocessed past traumas reverberate through urban descriptions: the threat of totalitarianism lingers in industrial architecture and the ways in which urban spaces are organized. Textual analysis refers to Michel Foucault to explore how spatial organization may enhance individualism and productivity. As powerful economic centres, Milan and Turin are privileged locations from which Bianciardi and Volponi reflect on the idiosyncrasies of modernization and on their failed utopian ambitions for a more egalitarian Italian society
Taxonomy and lectotypification of Lepidagathis hamiltoniana (Acanthaceae: Barlerieae), an endemic species of India.
No full textThe complete mitochondrial genome of Trigonisca nataliae (Hymenoptera, Apidae) assemblage reveals heteroplasmy in the control region.
No full textDiscovery and conservation of Monanthotaxis bali (Annonaceae) a new Critically Endangered (possibly extinct) montane forest treelet from Bali Ngemba, North West Region, Cameroon.
No full textis the only known, solely montane (occurring solely above 2000 m alt.) species of the genus. It joins (Rwanda) and (Tanzania), two other species that can also occur above 2000 m alt. is an addition to the small number (28) of the tree species of the surviving montane forests of the Cameroon Highlands of which only eight other species are endemic. Due to its supra-axillary inflorescences, and petals arranged in one whorl but with the outer petals overlapping the inner petals distally, and rounded flower buds, the new species is placed in clade B of Hoekstra The new species is unusual in having the largest outer petals in clade B, in being a treelet in a predominantly lianescent genus, and in lacking the glaucous underside of the leaf-blades that usually characterises the genus. takes the number of continental African species of the genus to 80, and makes Cameroon, with 30 species, the most species-diverse country for the genus. is known only from the Bali Ngemba Forest Reserve, a forest remnant under great pressure of degradation and clearance in the Bamenda Highlands of Cameroon. The case for protecting Bali Ngemba for its unique plant biodiversity is made. may already be extinct due to logging and agricultural activities. Here it is described, illustrated, mapped and assessed as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) using the IUCN 2012 criteria
