Conceptualization of ‘the South’ in Southern Gothic Literature: Changing Perceptionthrough Metaphor and Image Schemas
Dušan Stamenković (University of Niš, Serbia)
In different literary traditions, we can see that there are countries where the South, being the poorer part of the country, tends to develop certain traits specific to that piece of the land only. These countries include the USA, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Serbia, etc. The ‘souths’ of these countries seem to share a number of social, cultural and historical features, and in them we can identify a cultural “climate” that could be labelled the southern cultural space. This space seems to create a specific kind of atmosphere and a social and psychological framework for the development of issues encompassed by the term provincialism. When talking about the South in any of these countries, we usually refer to economically under-developed regions. This economic depravity, lack of financial stability and distance from the cultural centres affect all spheres of life and block the arrival of new knowledge, people and ideas and lead the region towards developing a specific kind of collective (social) psyche. The kind of southern cultural space present in literature related to the Southern part of the USA (predominantly the Deep South), usually named Southern Gothic, seems to be highly representative of what this social, historical, cultural and political space stands for. This paper explores some of the human cognitive mechanisms that help us conceptualize the South through its literature. The paper concentrates on metaphor and image schemas, all of which come from the field of cognitive approaches to our thought and language. The goal of the paper is to prove that what lies beneath our reading(s) of this kind of literature is highly universal. We all share the same cognitive apparatus, which allows anyone to grasp the notions presented in the literature of the Deep South, no matter where they live.
Body, Colours and Emotions in Buenos Aires: an approach from Social Sensibilities
Adrián Scribano (University of Córdoba, Argentina)
We live in a permanent relationship between what our bodies tell us and what we have socially apprehended. This paper aims to show some features of social sensibilities in inhabitants of BsAs city linking their everyday bodily experiences, colours they attribute to the body, and parts of the body in which they say they experience their sensations. Based on a 2010 survey, interpretative patterns concerning colour, body, and emotions are suggested. First, the theoretical starting point for connecting colours, emotions, bodies, and daily life is reviewed. Some results of the study mentioned regarding the issue addressed are summarised. Finally, an interpretation of the findings is displayed, evidencing connections of ways of experiencing the body in terms of colours and emotions.
The Icelandic meltdown and the entrepreneurial function
Örn D. Jónsson & Rögnvaldur J. Sæmundsson (University of Iceland)
At the beginning of the 21st century the Icelandic economy was characterized by openness, highly educated workforce, diverse international connections, and abundant access to foreign capital. Less than ten years later its banking system had collapsed and many of the country’s largest firms were facing bankruptcy. In this paper we use theories of entrepreneurship put forward by Schumpeter, Kirzner and Baumol to analyze how improved innovation capacity, opening of foreign markets, and privatization connects a prosperous micro-state to the international economy with unforeseen consequences. We ask if the favourable conditions at the beginning of the century can be restored and the evolution of the economy directed to a path that is more prosperous for the country. We argue that this is possible by attending to the specialized innovation companies that have survived the crisis and creating a favourable environment for their development.
he Fractured Memory: The 1970s in contemporary Argentine documentaries
María Elena de las Carreras (University of California, Los Ángeles, USA)
This article discusses the political documentaries made in Argentina in the last fifteen years about the tumultuous 1970s. These 21 films recur to various visual, sound and narrative mechanisms to build a bridge to the militant cinema of that decade, with The Hour of the Furnaces (1966-68) as a key referent. Their common discourse is “setentismo”, the ideology and praxis of 1970s left-wing political engagement. The article explores the anachronistic persistence of this political imaginary embedded in the films’ belief in a transnational utopia, around Che Guevara and the Cuban Revolution.