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Which Classicism? Beyond Brushwork and Form to Situate Armando Spadini in the Context of the 1920s
No full textThesis (B.A. in Art History, Minor in Entrepreneurship)--John Cabot University, Spring 2019.In 1922, Armando Spadini (1883-1925) appeared in Florence at the Fiorentina Primaverile exhibition with the Valori Plastici group, the most significant advocates for modern “classical” art in the 1920s. Only a couple of years earlier Spadini had been criticized for his “lustful Impressionism” by those same people who would later accept him in the Valori Plastici group. In 1924, Spadini, widely appreciated as one of the best contemporary painters, held his first solo show at the Venice Biennale. This thesis will attempt to better situate Spadini in the context of the 1920s, analysing the shift in style and critical reception which occurred around 1918-1920, and studying as case studies his participation in the two above-mentioned exhibitions. A picture will emerge of a painter who was more seriously engaged with the debates of his time than it is often credited. Spadini elaborated his own peculiar synthesis of elements, such as colour, drawing, construction, intuition, and tradition, which were all variously tied to the notion of the “classical.” The exploration into his own response to this issue will serve to underline the various connotations of the “classicisms” of the 1920s and of the Valori Plastici group, questioning some assumed narratives of the studies on this period. The term “classical” was a repository of disparate - at times divergent - artistic conceptions and expressions. It was generally made to stand for the modern standard of “meaningful” and “grand” art; used and instrumentalized by critics, often with nationalistic overtones. The term can serve as a methodological tool only if each of these diverse elements is examined in its own peculiar significance in the critical and ideological context of its occurrence, and not when “classical” is discussed as a transhistorical and univocal “style.” Thus, the ultimate aim of this thesis is to highlight how labels – those constructions which mirror the way we recount the history of art - despite being often necessary in order to trace a clear picture of a period, are misleading if not properly contextualized
Mapping the Future of Occupations: Transformative and Destructive Effects of New Digital Technologies on Jobs
No full textWe investigate the impact of new digital technologies upon occupations. We argue that these impacts may be both destructive and transformative. The destructive effects of digitalization substitute human labor, while transformative effects of digitalization complement it. We distinguish between four broad groups of occupations that differ with regard to the impact of digitalization upon them. “Rising star” occupations are characterized by the low destructive and high transformative effects of digitalization. In contrast, “collapsing” occupations face a high risk of destructive effects. “Human terrain” occupations have low risks of both destructive and transformative digitalization, whereas “machine terrain” occupations are affected by both types. We analyze the differences between these four occupational groups in terms of the capabilities, which can be considered bottlenecks to computerization. The results help to identify which capabilities will be in demand and to what degree workers with different abilities can expect their occupations to be transformed in the digital era
Strategic CSR and the Competitive Advantage of Franchise Firms
No full textAlthough corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a widely researched topic, there is a lack of its application in the franchise literature. The integration of CSR into the franchise business model is vital as it affects the franchise firm’s growth and survival. Based on resource-based and organizational capabilities theories, our study explains how CSR strategy impacts the creation of intangible brand name assets as critical source of sustainable competitive advantage and, hence, increased financial performance. We adopt a multi-stakeholder-oriented CSR construct of economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibility dimensions. Using data from Austrian franchise firms, our results show that those CSR dimensions have a positive impact on brand name asset creation. Specifically, philanthropic responsibility strategy has the greatest impact on brand name assets, followed by legal, ethical, and economic responsibility strategies. Overall, this is the first study in franchising which explains the strategic role of CSR
The Great Masturbator by Salvador Dalí: A Portrait of Gala as Surrealist Praying Mantis
No full textThesis (B.A. in Art History, First Minor in Creative Writing, Second Minor in Classical Studies)--John Cabot University, Fall 2019.Characterized as a “devouring” and castrating femme-fatale, the paradigm of the “praying mantis” rose to popularity among Surrealist artists during the 1930’s as a symbol of repressed male sexuality. Salvador Dalí, famed for his “paranoiac-critical” method, found the praying mantis to be an alluring motif of psychoanalytic expression, canonizing its myth further in 1934 through an extensive analytic essay titled “The Tragic Myth of Millet’s L’Angelus”. His essay, which focused on a psychoanalytic interpretation of Jean-François Millet’s 1857 painting L’Angelus, then prompted the painting of a series of L’Angelus inspired works, associating the role of the original’s female figure with the identity of the praying mantis. Prior to this, in 1929, Dalí painted The Great Masturbator, just after beginning his intimate involvement with Gala Éluard, who’s profile appears in a curiously erotic composition within the painting. Interestingly, The Great Masturbator, was later claimed to convey praying mantis imagery in multiple works of scholarship of the late 20th century, despite an undeniable lack of primary evidence of Dalí’s intended symbolism. Therefore, this thesis intends to explore the possible “keys” of interpretation of the portrait of Gala in The Great Masturbator, attempting to “decode” the presence of specific visual elements though their biographical origins and to build upon their corresponding psychoanalytical conclusions. By compiling and analyzing the Surrealist viewer’s collective knowledge of and expectations about the Surrealist praying mantis paradigm through a variety of succinct visual analyses and comparisons of praying mantis works by other Surrealist artists, this will survey the iconographical patterns, or lack thereof, which help to define the visual representational limits of the praying mantis trope, from which one can further analyze its symbolic association with the portrait of Gala within The Great Masturbator
Gendering the Public Sphere in 18th century France
No full textThesis (B.A. in Art History, Minor in Classical Studies)--John Cabot University, Spring 2019.The focus of this thesis is the interaction of gender and publicness in 18th century France. Its purpose is to examine how female participation to the public sphere was perceived and regulated, what limitations were posed on women who would enter the public sphere, and what strategies women employed to create a public self and engage in intellectual pursuits. I have used philosophical essays and other types of primary sources to analyze the issue on a theoretical level, and measured the conclusions thus reached against the case study of Enlightenment salons
Aristotelian Philosophy of Language and its Relation on Philosophy of Mind
Get PDFThesis (B.A. in Classics, Minor in Philosophy)--John Cabot University, Spring 2019.Aristotle is often attributed to have initiated the systematic study of fields of logic, physics,biology, mind and many others. Commonly this list does not include language. Surely, there areremarks, deep ones for that matter, in the Organon, but sensu stricto the study of language inAristotle does not go beyond a curiosity and at best; in secondary literature, at most, he receivesa vague reference that credits the so-called similitude theory of meaning. The theory is primitiveand not well-developed but the tools provided by contemporary philosophy of language are away to understand Aristotle’s project in its full extent. The methods of theoretical reductionismhave been applied to modern theories of language in relation to mind and the results are fruitful.Similarly, contemporary philosophical tradition enjoys a great analytic advantage, havingdivided the analysis of language into those of extension, intention, convention, psychology, &c.These categories, though not conceived by Aristotle in his time, can be used to investigate whatan Aristotelian theory of language can be, and more importantly, in which regards would it relateto the mind. For Aristotle admits in De Interpretatione that there are linguistic and psychologicalaspects to the study of meaning and that can be referred to De Anima for a more elaboratediscussion on psychology. A deeper inquiry into the relation between language and mind showsthat theory of language is formally prior to theory of mind. Similarly, the key vocabulary of themind, in particular the notoriously ambiguous notion of phantasma, is also reducible to thevocabulary of language, viz. pathéma
The Deathless Death: Emily Dickinson’s Deconstruction of Death
No full textThesis (B.A. in English Literature, Minor in Creative Writing and Psychology)--John Cabot University, Spring 2019.This dissertation is a literary exploration of understanding and surviving the loss of a loved one. The two-part nature of this work divides this exploration into a research section and a creative writing section. The research section focuses on Emily Dickinson’s perspective of death, and suggests that she deconstructs conventional notions about death, to further her belief in a continuous existence instead. For the purpose of this exploration, I will explore the biographical factors of her life that contributed to this perspective, as well as an analysis of some of her most popular poems. In an effort to completely understand the deconstruction, the research section has been divided into the three main techniques she’s employed that makes her work stand apart: introducing death as a persona, the continuum of consciousness, and the separation of the body and the soul. The creative writing section at the end pays an homage to Dickinson’s belief in a metaphysical connection with those who passed. It contains ten poems narrating a family’s struggle in surviving the suicide of their son/brother
Notes on the Nature of Beliefs in Witchcraft: Folklore and Classical Culture in Fifteenth Century Mendicant Traditions
No full textWitchcraft is a varied historical phenomenon with changing sociocultural aspects according to the times and the places considered. Nonetheless, it is possible to trace the different cultural substrata giving shape to witch-beliefs in order to shed light on their process of amalgamation. The aim of this study is to show how the folkloric and the Classical literary motives were intertwined in the fifteenth century by figures lauded as the high intellectuals of the time, Franciscan and Dominican preachers and inquisitors, to produce a coherent and multifaceted picture of witchcraft-related beliefs. By putting some of the most significant sources that I have analyzed in my monograph Witchcraft, Superstition, and Observant Franciscan Preachers in relation to others that I have not considered before composed by the same or different authors, my aim is to show how this process of combination of various cultural traditions gave shape to the creation and the understanding of the witchcraft phenomenon. Furthermore, I also intend to highlight how the at times contradictory views concerning witch-beliefs, pointing either to realistic or to skeptical stances, are related to specific declensions of those different traditions on the part of the friars
Subverting a Pan American Unity: Diego Rivera’s Belief System and Quest for Emancipation
No full textThesis (B.A. in Art History, Minor in Entrepreneurship)--John Cabot University, Fall 2018.In 1940, Diego Rivera was commissioned to paint a large-scale mural as part of the Golden Gate International Exposition in the San Francisco Bay. The masterpiece, originally entitled Unión de la Expresión Artistica del Norte y Sur de este Continente (The Marriage of the Artistic Expression of the North and South of this Continent) and often referred to as Pan American Unity (Fig.1), is composed of five sections in which the artist unfolds his multi-layered belief system, synthetizing Communist utopia and indigenous way of living with Christianity and proletarian art. Yet, this magnificent mural has been neglected in studies of Rivera’s works in the U.S; as such, the literature produced on it is still limited if considering its primary importance for the understanding of Rivera’s artistic and ideological evolution. In order to fully grasp the artist’s visual discourse, a thorough analysis of the overt and covert elements is essential; indeed, the main scope of this thesis is to suggest a different reading of Pan American Unity. Apparently a straightforward ‘innocuous’ mural, depicting and celebrating America continental unity, once its iconography is unveiled, Rivera’s political radicalism becomes clear in his choice of references, albeit concealed under a peaceful and harmonious mask. Unfairly overlooked, this mural reveals the artist’s intricate dialectic of a unified American continent. The present thesis proposes to bring Pan American Unity to the foreground as a necessary work to unfold Rivera’s debated personality and artistic practice, thus opening up new possible fields of research