80 research outputs found
Islamic Practices, Traditions and Beliefs in Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean in the Early 16th Century: Georgius Gemnicensis’ Ephemeris
No full textThis article reports several excerpts of Georgius Gemnicensis’ Ephemeris, a travel journal in which the author recounted his experiences in Mamluk Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean, and provided a number of details about customs, beliefs and Islamic practices in such territories at the beginning of the 16th century
Les réseaux iraniens dans l’Albanie postsocialiste entre soft power et incidents diplomatiques
No full textReligious Materiality and Virtual Sainthood: The Case of Shna Ndou (St. Anthony) Pilgrimage in Laç
No full textThe interdisciplinary perspective, between history and anthropology, of our contribution has as its subject the pilgrimage at Kisha e Shna Ndout (Sanctuary of St. Anthony of Padua) in Lac, northern Albania, which is one of the most visited religious sites in southeastern Europe. The church, built there and ministered by Franciscans, is now an impressive place of worship frequented throughout the year by thousands of pilgrims. On the 12th and 13th of June of each year, an official pilgrimage is held, which reaches its climax on the night of the 12th, when thousands of Albanians sleep in the shrine seeking blessings and healing. The pilgrimage practices show how materiality is a privileged means of reaching out to a religious place. This materiality is grounded in the multilayered built environment, which has been built and rebuilt and especially reconstructed after the collapse of the socialist regime-a process that reveals the pivotal function of secular infrastructures in the case of religious places. Virtuality is also an important aspect of the pilgrimage, and so materiality and virtuality form a single milieu that reshapes perceptions. Through participation in this pilgrimage, virtuality is sacralized and promotes sanctity
The Authority of Imam in Italian Islam and Beyond: The Case of Guided Tours at the Great Mosque in Rome
No full textThis article aims at analysing the meaning and the role of the ‘authority’ of the
Great Mosque of Rome. This topic is dealt with from several perspectives. The first part of the
contribution is focused on a more general discussion centred around ‘authority’ in Islam, taking
into account the peculiar Italian context, and the complexity of ‘authority’ as an analytical cat-
egory. The second part of the article focuses on an ethnographic case study that aims at investi-
gating the role of the Imam Nader Akkad in creating the narrative of the Great Mosque during
the guided tours at that worship plac
“They are all here to see and touch:” Materiality, Religious Mixing and Post-communism: St Anthony’s Pilgrimage in Laç
No full textThe sanctuary of St Anthony of Padua (Kisha e Shna Ndout) in Laç, northern Albania, is one of the most visited religious places in Albania. The small church, built there and ministered by Franciscans, is now an impressive place of worship frequented by Catholics, Muslims and Christian Orthodox. Throughout the year, pilgrims from across the country, but also from Kosovo, visit the sanctuary. On the 12th and 13th of June of each year, an official pilgrimage is held, which reaches its climax on the night of the 12th when many thousands of Albanians sleep in the shrine seeking blessings and healing. This article aims to explore pilgrimage-related practices, wherein arises materiality as a privileged means of reaching out to the divine and as a reaction to silencing during the communist era (1945–1991). Such practices are overshadowed by nationalist discourse, in which ethnic-linguistic membership outweighs the religious one, even undermining procedural and terminological normativity
Nationalism, Post-Secular and Sufism: The Making of Neo-Bektashism by Moikom Zeqo in Post-Socialist Albania
No full textThis article focuses on Moikom Zeqo’s (1949–2020) work Syri i Tretë (“The Third Eye”, 2001) as a New Age reworking of Albanian Bektashism. The success of this book, and the recognition that Bektashi authorities themselves accorded it, make it highly representative of Bektashi neo-intellectualism and beyond: it is a cross-section that enables us to investigate the complex reworking of Sufi knowledge in a post-secular environment, such as Albania. This article examines this specific work while outlining a history of the Bektashiyya from the Ottoman era to the post-socialist Albanian period and highlighting its doctrinal and practical developments. Syri i Tretë is the expression of a secularist engulfment of post-socialist or even post-secular religion, which Bektashism embodies. Thus, Zeqo’s work expresses a common trend in Albanian society that is beyond the members of the Bektashi community
La vie de Mahomet dans l’Ephemeris de Georgius Gemnicensis (1507-1508)
No full textCet article illustre les modalités de représentation de l'altérité religieuse dans l'Ephemeris de Georgius Gemnicensis, un récit de voyage relatant le pèlerinage en Egypte, Palestine et Syrie mené son auteur en 1507-1508. Il porte notamment sur l'analyse de l'articulation entre expérience autoptique et compilation de sources écrites dans les pages consacrées à la vie du Prophète et aux préceptes coraniques
Effects of psychostimulants on neurotrophins implications for psychostimulant-induced neurotoxicity.
No full textIt is well documented that psychostimulants may alter neuronal function and neurotransmission in the brain. Although the mechanism of psychostimulants is still unknown, it is known that these substances increase extracellular level of several neurotransmitters including dopamine (DA), serotonin, and norepinephrine by competing with monoamine transporters and can induce physical tolerance and dependence. In addition to this, recent findings also suggest that psychostimulants may damage brain neurons through mechanisms that are still under investigation. In the recent years, it has been demonstrated that almost all psychostimulants are able to affect a class of proteins, called neurotrophins, in the peripheral and central nervous system (CNS). Neurotrophins, such as nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), have relevant action on neurons involved in psychostimulant action, such as DA and serotonergic neurons, and can play dual roles: first, in neuronal survival and death, and, second, in activity-dependent plasticity. In this review, we will focalize on the effects of psychostimulants on this class of proteins, which may be implicated, at least in part, in the mechanism of the psychostimulant-induced neurotoxicity. Moreover, since altered neurotrophins may participate in the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders and psychiatric disorders are common in drug users, one plausible hypothesis is that psychostimulants can cause psychosis through interfering with neurotrophins synthesis and utilization by CNS neurons
Applications of signaling theory to contemporary human courtship
No full textSignaling theory, a popular approach in ethology and theoretical biology, can be employed to better understand social interaction in humans. Applied to contemporary human courtship, signaling theory can provide a framework for interpreting information transmitted at an initial encounter, signals conveyed at key relationship phases both within a romantic couple and to outside parties, and the regular communicative exchange within established relationships. This dissertation applies signaling theory to courtship in testing evolutionary hypotheses within three projects, each involving a different subject population situated at a salient courtship phase. The first project addresses the signaling value of women's faces absent any other information, which is analogous to a first meeting prior to the beginning of courtship. Testosterone-mediated facial features were positively associated with viewer perceptions of masculinity, positively associated with self-reports of sociosexual attitudes and behaviors, and negatively associated with viewer perceptions of attractiveness. The second project explores the signaling potential of engagement rings among a sample of Ohio newlyweds. Engagement ring cost was positively associated with male income and female income, and was negatively associated with female age, indicating that engagement ring cost may reflect both male and female mate value. The cost of engagement rings as a proportion of male salary was positively associated with courtship duration, suggesting that engagement ring cost may reinforce a signal of commitment already conveyed by a lengthy courtship. The third project concerns notions of spousal obligation on the Honduran island of Utila. This project used an experimental interview setting to elicit and measure audience effects. In response to key questions about characteristics sought in wives, men interviewed in the presence of their wives used more forceful rhetoric. Furthermore, men's responses more frequently emphasized women's morality whereas women's responses more frequently emphasized male resource control.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical referencesIncludes vitaby Bria Lane Dunha
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