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Ecology as a nature-cultural process in Raja Rao’s Kanthapura
Full text linkThis article investigates a largely overlooked dimension of Raja Rao’s literary corpus, focusing on the depiction of ecological themes and Indian landscapes in his debut novel, Kanthapura. Drawing on recent scholarship in the Environmental Humanities, it adopts an integrated theoretical framework, combining Hubert Zapf’s Cultural Ecology (2016), the new materialist concept of the nature-culture continuum (Iovino and Opperman 2013), and Niccolò Scaffai’s Ecocritique (2017). This framework is applied to highlight how Rao’s novel integrates material and political issues with a reflection on affective and spiritual connections between the human and the nonhuman world that is rooted in local traditions and beliefs. On a thematic level, what emerges in Kanthapura is the search for a new eco-social balance in a nation on the verge of independence. However, in this work, ecology is not only a narrative theme used to criticise colonial ideologies and eco-social legacies, but it also permeates the text in its narratological and semiotical dimensions, challenging colonial literary conventions. On a textual level, this article intends to discuss the effects of nature (Scaffai 2017) in Kanthapura by analysing the literary strategies employed by the author to depict the interactions between the human and the nonhuman world
Conciliatory, yet Oppressive: the Kurdish Issue in Syria through the Eyes of Ba'thists from Party Foundation to the 8 March Revolution
Full text linkThis paper aims to shed light on the ideological premises and political activities of the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party toward the Kurds before its rise to power in Syria. To start with, the study will retrace the evolution of the Kurdish political movements and their initial interactions with Arab nationalists. Then, it will provide a detailed analysis of the Ba'thist theoretical framework, indicating that, in the early phase of its history, the party did not completely perceive the Kurdish issue as an existential threat to its goals. In addition, the research assumes that 'Aflaq's "conciliatory" vision began to weaken with the establishment of the United Arab Republic, which caused a radical reshuffling between Arab and Kurd relations. In particular, two dynamics will be investigated: the first one is related to the shift in ideological approach toward the minority issue in Ba'thist literature during the 1950s; the second one focuses on the change in perspective caused by the United Arab Republic and 8 March Revolution
Political Urban Solidarity: A Tool for Empowerment and Social Change
Full text linkWithin the literature on migration and refugees, the concept of solidarity has consistently held a significant position. Generally, solidarity is often associated with notions of compassion, and humanitarianism towards refugees and migrants. Alternatively, it can be linked to broader movements such as radical no-border politics and coalitions formed by individuals uniting against oppression. This paper draws on Bauder's interpretation of solidarity "a productive and inventive practice that generates novel possibilities of politicization and provides opportunities to rethink ways of belonging" (2020, 11) intersecting with the concept of 'political solidarity' (Scholz 2008). Drawing upon one year of ethnographic research conducted within the solidarity network of Rete Kurdistan Roma, this study aims to explore political solidarity practices within the urban context of Rome. This argument posits that political urban solidarity can be conceptualized as the process and the practices of establishing spaces of empowerment wherein the solidarity network operates in synergy with migrants, collaborating with them rather than acting on their behalf. This definition of political urban solidarity is distinguished from the broader concept of urban solidarity by its form of overtly political group engagement, an emphasis on moral commitments, individual conscience, collective responsibility, and shared action with migrants
Prospettive e programmi per lo sviluppo turistico in Puglia negli anni della Ricostruzione: Taranto e la scommessa sul mare
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