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Prosodic disambiguation and the scope ambiguity of sentences with negation and disjunction in Dutch
No full textWork on the prosody-semantics interface has established that prosody can disambiguate sentences, including constructions with a scopal interaction of two logical connectives. Our study presents a novel case, investigating the effect of prosody on the interaction of sentences with negation and disjunction in Dutch. In a perception experiment 46 adult native speakers of Dutch took a forced-choice selection task for Dutch sentences similar to Some children don’t like red or blue. They were given stories that focused on the OR narrow scope (‘neither A nor B’) or the OR wide scope reading (\u27not A or not B’) and had to select one of two audio recordings of the same sentence that differed prosodically. For the OR narrow scope reading, participants strongly preferred a prosodic contour with neutral accent on OR, whereas for the OR wide scope reading they preferred a rise-fall contour with a pause before OR. These patterns show that prosody plays a role in distinguishing the two readings. This finding contributes new insights from prosody about the nature of a typological distinction between languages where some, like Dutch, prefer the OR narrow scope reading and others the OR wide scope reading
The Great Masculine Renunciation
No full textThe Great Masculine Renunciation marked a historical shift in men’s fashion from opulence to understatement in Europe and America during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The article examines the social, political, and cultural forces that contributed to this transformation, tracing its roots from religious asceticism to Enlightenment ideals of rationality and individual freedom. It discusses how changes in economic conditions and technology also played a role, making opulent attire less exclusive and undermining its status as a symbol of prestige. The article analyzes the emergence of new sartorial norms that privileged understatement and elegance, turning lack of adornment into a new status symbol while stigmatizing overt luxury as passé. It highlights key figures such as Beau Brummell, whose pursuit of simplicity and perfection in attire exemplified this shift. Through historical anecdotes and scholarly insights, the article elucidates how the Great Masculine Renunciation reflected broader changes in society and became a manifestation of power and privilege in a changing world.The Great Masculine Renunciation marked a historical shift in men’s fashion from opulence to understatement in Europe and America during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The article examines the social, political, and cultural forces that contributed to this transformation, tracing its roots from religious asceticism to Enlightenment ideals of rationality and individual freedom. It discusses how changes in economic conditions and technology also played a role, making opulent attire less exclusive and undermining its status as a symbol of prestige. The article analyzes the emergence of new sartorial norms that privileged understatement and elegance, turning lack of adornment into a new status symbol while stigmatizing overt luxury as passé. It highlights key figures such as Beau Brummell, whose pursuit of simplicity and perfection in attire exemplified this shift. Through historical anecdotes and scholarly insights, the article elucidates how the Great Masculine Renunciation reflected broader changes in society and became a manifestation of power and privilege in a changing world
From Social to Institutional Dramaturgy: Archive Policy and the Defeat of the Public
No full text The notion of the public sphere, as coined by Jürgen Habermas, is premised on distinctions between private individuals and the state. Nancy Fraser alerts that any typology of public sphere is inherently a structured set of rules of social inclusion and exclusion. Oskar Negt and Alexander Kluge analyse the way in which the mediatised public sphere of the twentieth century absorbed the proletarian experience into a negation of their identity. Finally, according to Bojana Cvejić and Ana Vujanović, in neoliberal capitalism, what is repressed is no longer the private individual but the public itself. The abundant use of theatrical concepts in these studies points to theatricality and performativity as constituent parts of any form of public sphere. Through the methods of social dramaturgy and institutional dramaturgy, I propose in this essay that digital archival technologies (social media) produced new forms of social choreography that negate the commons
Russian Theatre in Exile: On Diasporic Intimacy, Guilt of Compassion, and Anti-War Protest
No full text Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has turned into a new European tragedy, one the continent has not experienced on this scale since the military catastrophes of the twentieth century. In addition to the devastating losses on the war fronts, but also among the civilians in Ukraine, the war has sent thousands of people into exile, both from Ukraine and from Russia. This essay acknowledges the horrific damage this war has brought to Ukraine and Ukrainian culture and theatre. It also aims to begin mapping and describing artistic strategies of the anti-war protest as expressed by Russian-speaking theatre artists, who openly and firmly position themselves against Russia’s war in Ukraine and who stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. These artists fled Russia for different reasons: some left the country because of their open anti-war and partisan position, some due to the overbearing censorship, pressure from the authorities, as well as personal danger, which their work and public statements put them in. Today, many of them consider themselves political exiles. In this essay, I introduce a seven-step analytical model to examine how Russian theatre artists in exile document and condemn the impact of Putin’s regime on their country and its neighbours
The Dramaturgy of Research: Toward and Aesthetics of Liberation in the Scenic Practices of Latin America (1983-2021) (2023)
No full textShould the European Court of Human Rights Treat the Anonymous and the Absent Witness Equally? The Application of the Same Three-Step Test
No full textThe ‘right to (cross)-examination’ is regulated in Article 6(3)(d) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). However, this right is not absolute and can, under circumstances, be limited. This is notably the case when evidence given by anonymous or absent witnesses is presented in court.
In the prominent Al-Khawaja and Tahery judgement, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) listed three principal requirements which was later called the three-step test for the admissibility of testimonies of absent witnesses. Although the situation generated by the admission as evidence of testimonies by absent witnesses and by anonymous witnesses differs, the ECtHR appears to have gradually applied the same test to both types of testimonies to assess whether their admissibility violates the defence rights under Article 6(3)(d) ECHR.
Even though the three-step test is important, the ECtHR has contradictory judgments on the admissibility of evidence by absent and anonymous witnesses. This study will thus analyse and evaluate this judicially-created test by discussing the differences between anonymous and absent witnesses
How to End the Territorial Conflicts in Georgia: An International Law Based Mediation Proposal for Abkhazia and South Ossetia
No full textIn this article, I present a proposal for an international law-based formula to mediate territorial conflicts, and apply it to the separatist cases in Georgia. While the situation there is notably more stable than in some other post-Soviet conflicts (i.e., Russia and Ukraine, Armenia and Azerbaijan), it is important to note that these ‘frozen conflicts’ can become quickly unfrozen and heat up in violent aggression. Thus, while a ceasefire between the conflicting parties has held for 14 years, the conflicts in Georgia need a definitive political solution that is simultaneously based on a legally solid compromise. In this article, I use my formula to propose such a compromise to the Georgian territorial questions that fit into the contemporary international legal framework concerning territory. Naturally, any realistic solution will require concessions on every stakeholder. In short, the formula offers for Georgia the return of its territorial integrity, for Abkhazia internal self-determination in the form of a meaningful territorial autonomy, for South Ossetia a recognition of a set of strictly limited cultural and language rights, and for Russia a position as a guarantor state. All these proposals are based on international law
Social Justice Coalition & 2 others v Minister of Police and 4 others: Right to City as a Mitigating Concept to Harms on Public Safety
No full textThe South African constitution in section 9(3) prohibits unfair discrimination against anyone. This paper aims to unpack a judgement handed down by the Constitutional Court of South Africa on 19 July 2022 relating to the unfair allocation of policing resources in South Africa, thus resulting in unfair discrimination. The case discussed is the case of Social Justice Coalition and 2 others v Minister of Police and 4 others. Systematic discrimination has seen less allocation of police resources amongst poorer communities such as Khayelitsha in Cape Town. The paper further aims to see how local government can play a meaningful role in promoting public safety in its law and policy, thus promoting the ‘right to city’ and adhering to United Nations normative approaches on Urban crime and safety. This may mitigate systematic discrimination that historically disadvantaged areas have in policing resources across South Africa. Generally, South Africa is ranked one of the most violent societies. Murder, robbery, rape, femicide, and domestic violence occur at alarming levels. Cities such as Cape Town rank amongst the twenty most violent cities in the world, with the likes of some Latin and Central American cities, which are countries that are not in any form of civil war or civil unrest. It is a general norm that some areas have developed a reputation of being high risk to public safety because of various violent crimes such as gun shooting, stabbing, and rape. Certain areas in metropolitan cities, such as Khayelitsha Cape Town, are known to have high unreported incidents of violent crimes. It is worth pointing out that the application brought before the courts focuses on the lack of policing resources in Cape Town. This judgement also fits into the reality of the situation across South African townships under-resourced with policing resources to deal with violent crime and other crime. The paper will be structured in a way that first gives a background of the case, secondly a critical analysis of the case through the concept of ‘right to city’ and thirdly, submissions and a conclusion
