Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Pagani'

La tesi intende fornire un contributo agli studi sulle modalità di lettura e di analisi dei testi messe in atto dagli autori cristiani del secondo secolo, in costante confronto con le stesse pratiche applicate dai contemporanei rappresentanti delle élites intellettuali non cristiane. La testualità riveste un ruolo centrale nel processo di formazione di un’identità cristiana e nella costruzione di un discorso che ne sia espressione e legittimazione. Ci si propone, dunque, di approfondire se e quanto la definizione di una normatività testuale, specificamente cristiana, sia debitrice a un confronto che si svolge a livello della lettura come base per l’interpretazione di un testo. I passi selezionati seguono la scansione dei diversi momenti di analisi testuale propri della τέχνη γραμματική: i dibattiti in merito alle variae lectiones, agli errori grafici e alle interpolazioni volontarie dei copisti, l’uso della tropologia, le riflessioni sulla dispositio e sull’ordo verborum, lo studio degli etimi, le valutazioni morfologiche e sintattiche. Questo metodo favorisce un tentativo di campionatura dei testi volto a far emergere l’utilizzo delle modalità di lettura tradizionali nelle opere degli autori cristiani del secondo secolo.
This thesis aims at contributing to the studies on reading practices of text analysis applied in the second century by Christian authors, in comparison with the same tools used by contemporary non-Christian intellectuals. Textuality had a key role in the process of formation of Christian identity and construction of the discourse through which Christianism was expressed and legitimized. It is therefore important to examine how textual debates influenced the constitution of a normative canon of Scriptures. The selected passages are gathered according to the different steps of text analysis in ancient grammar: discussions on variae lectiones, graphic errors and voluntary interpolations made by copyists, the use of tropology, reflections on dispositio and ordo verborum, studies in etymology, morphological and syntactic analysis. This method fosters an attempt to textual sampling in order to identify the use of traditional reading practices in the works of second-century Christian authors.

La tesi intende fornire un contributo agli studi sulle modalità di lettura e di analisi dei testi messe in atto dagli autori cristiani del secondo secolo, in costante confronto con le stesse pratiche applicate dai contemporanei rappresentanti delle élites intellettuali non cristiane. La testualità riveste un ruolo centrale nel processo di formazione di un’identità cristiana e nella costruzione di un discorso che ne sia espressione e legittimazione. Ci si propone, dunque, di approfondire se e quanto la definizione di una normatività testuale, specificamente cristiana, sia debitrice a un confronto che si svolge a livello della lettura come base per l’interpretazione di un testo. I passi selezionati seguono la scansione dei diversi momenti di analisi testuale propri della τέχνη γραμματική: i dibattiti in merito alle variae lectiones, agli errori grafici e alle interpolazioni volontarie dei copisti, l’uso della tropologia, le riflessioni sulla dispositio e sull’ordo verborum, lo studio degli etimi, le valutazioni morfologiche e sintattiche. Questo metodo favorisce un tentativo di campionatura dei testi volto a far emergere l’utilizzo delle modalità di lettura tradizionali nelle opere degli autori cristiani del secondo secolo.
This thesis aims at contributing to the studies on reading practices of text analysis applied in the second century by Christian authors, in comparison with the same tools used by contemporary non-Christian intellectuals. Textuality had a key role in the process of formation of Christian identity and construction of the discourse through which Christianism was expressed and legitimized. It is therefore important to examine how textual debates influenced the constitution of a normative canon of Scriptures. The selected passages are gathered according to the different steps of text analysis in ancient grammar: discussions on variae lectiones, graphic errors and voluntary interpolations made by copyists, the use of tropology, reflections on dispositio and ordo verborum, studies in etymology, morphological and syntactic analysis. This method fosters an attempt to textual sampling in order to identify the use of traditional reading practices in the works of second-century Christian authors.

Contemporary Paganism, including Wicca, is a new religious movement that has taken root in the worldwide Anglophone diaspora, including Canada. Due to the fact that the majority of the population within Quebec is Francophone, several researchers of Paganism have cast doubts as to whether the Pagan movement could ever take root in the province. This research is an ethnographic study of Paganism in Montreal, Quebec's largest city and sole metropolis, using participant-observation, survey questionnaires, and one-on-one interviews in both English and French. This research aims to determine whether there are any significant differences between Anglophone and Francophone Pagans in Montreal, the degree to which Quebec culture has influenced the development of the religion within the province, and how the unique and distinct forms of Paganism in Quebec challenge the hegemony of the American model of Paganism. This research also explores the ways the development of a Pagan identity can be likened to the process of ethnogenesis.

This MA thesis will discuss the reception of common, non-scholarly polytheists (pagans) to the persecution of Christians from the early empire until the Great Persecution (303-313, 322-324). Though modern scholars have addressed this issue and asserted that there was a change in attitude, many have not developed this into anything more than a passing statement. When chronologically analyzing the Christian acts, passions, letters, and speeches recounting the deaths of martyrs deemed historically authentic, and accounting for the literary and biblical topoi, we can demonstrate that the position of non-Christians changed. The methodology of this thesis will chronologically assess the martyr acts, passions, speeches, and letters which are historically accurate after literary and biblical topoi are addressed. These sources are available in the appendix. Throughout this analysis, we will see two currents. The primary current will seek to discern the change in pagan reception of anti-Christian persecution, while the second current will draw attention to the Roman concept of religio and superstitio, both important in understanding civic religion which upheld the pax deorum and defined loyalty to the Roman order through material sacrifices and closely connected to one's citizenship. Religio commonly denoted proper ritual practices, while superstitio defined irregular forms of worship which may endanger the state. As we will see, Christians were feared and persecuted because it was believed that their cult would anger the gods and disrupt the cosmological order. The analysis will begin with a discussion centered on the "accusatory" approach to the Christian church during the first two centuries when the Roman state relied on provincial delatores (denounces) to legislate against the cult. During the first two centuries persecution was mostly provincial, sporadic and was not centrally-directed. We will see that provincial mobs were the most violent during the first two centuries. During the third century the actions of the imperial authority changed and began following an "inquisitorial" approach with the accession of Emperors Decius and Valerian, the former enacting an edict of universal sacrifices while the latter undertook the first Empire-wide initiative to crush the Christian community. It is during the third century that the attitude of non-elite pagans may have begun to change. This will be suggested when discussing the martyrdom of Pionius. When discussing the fourth century Great Persecution under the Diocletianic tetrarchy, it will be suggested that the pagan populace may have begun to look upon the small Christian community sympathetically. The thesis will conclude with the victory of Constantine over Licinius and the slow but steady rise of Christianity to prominence, becoming the official religio of the empire with traditional paganism relegated to the status of a superstitio.

El presente trabajo reflexiona sobre las representaciones de la religión y lo divino en seis cuentos de la escritora argentina Silvina Ocampo. Mi objetivo fue probar cómo, en un contexto donde los procesos de modernidad solo habían tenido lugar a medias – Buenos Aires durante el siglo XX-, lo divino seguía latente y, en consecuencia, surgía en los impases de su misma negación. De esta manera, he querido demostrar de qué modo, en los cuentos estudiados, aunque se niegue, lo divino se escabulle entre las grietas de una modernidad precaria, siempre mítica y sumamente contradictoria. Con esta idea, he analizado las representaciones de lo religioso en la narrativa ocampiana en las tres instancias claves del discurso católico: el creador, el pecado, y el Cielo y el Infierno. Encontré que, en estos seis cuentos, las adivinas habían tomado el lugar del maestro creador, el pecado funcionaba como una fantasía que ocultaba el disfrutar de los placeres paganos y, finalmente, el Cielo y el Infierno se habían transformado en grandes “casas de remate”: lo divino fue vaciado de un significado absoluto y reemplazado por uno que si bien había sido paganizado, aún estaba presente.
Tesis

Syftet med detta arbete är att belysa neopaganers religiositet i en relevant samhällskontext där religion blivit något personligt och nästintill tabubelagt. Med en fenomenologisk forskningsansats har fem neopaganers upplevelser studerats ifråga om hur de i dagens Sverige skapar och upprätthåller sina religiösa identiteter. I ljuset av Geertzs resonemang om religion som ett kulturellt system av meningsfulla symboler har jag beskrivit neopaganernas livsvärldar och med hjälp av Jenkins teori kring social identitet som förklaringsmodell har jag analyserat skapandet och upprätthållandet av informanternas religiösa identiteter.

Slutligen har det framkommit att neopaganer endast har möjlighet att skapa och upprätthålla religiösa identiteter i och genom sin kollektiva neopaganska identitet då det i dagens samhälle ges ett större erkännande till organiserade grupper än till individer. De skapar och upprätthåller sina neopaganska identiteter genom att umgås med likasinnade och skapa identitetsprospekt utifrån vilken publik de vänder sig till. Dessa prospekt har visat sig i hög grad variera och kan ibland innebära att den religiösa identiteten knappast ens skymtas men också att identiteten ibland klart och tydligt markeras med diverse symboler, alla utmärkande neopaganska. Det är publikens förförståelse kring neopaganism som avgör vilken typ av identitetsprospekt som presenteras och detta har fått som konsekvens att neopaganerna blivit relativt anonyma i det offentliga då allmänheten saknar god förförståelse.

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Bachelors
Sciences
Anthropology

The history of witchcraft has been studied and written about at length over the centuries and particularly in the last few years. It has a place within the pagan movement that is generally accepted as being of prime importance, notably within modem paganism. However, the subject has not been explored in depth from a musical perspective despite music being used in rituals throughout the pagan movement and especially in witchcraft. This study makes use of historical sources and contemporary journals and books to investigate the extent to which music was used in witchcraft ceremonies in the past and the types of music allegedly used. Further to this practising covens and hedgewitches have been contacted by post asking them for details of music used in their rituals and the changes they believe that take place because of the music used. When replies were forthcoming a questionnaire was sent asking for further details and in some cases the people concerned were visited. A cassette tape of music representing pagan themes was sent to them for their opinions as to the suitability of the music recorded. The results of this study are analysed to ascertain whether specific music is commonly used in Wiccan culture and rituals or whether there are differences purely according to the musical tastes of the individuals and reasons for the choice of music are sought. A study was also made of music from the classical repertoire that claims to represent witchcraft in fictional or mythological situations. This music is analysed to seek similar characteristics with the music used in actual Wiccan culture and a tape of music has been included in an appendix that provides representative examples of the music encountered with analysis. The results bring together information on two subjects that have not previously been seriously linked.

Too often women have a secondary place in religious institutions, with no possibility to influence or come into leading positions. This thesis aims to understand women’s empowerment by searching for such examples in Neo-Paganism, a growing New Religious Movement (NRM) in the west. Grace Jantzen’s development of Foucault’s power theory is utilized to analyze and understand the results. A mixed method is used; four interviews are conducted with Wiccan and Druid women, a survey of 332 women is analyzed, and literature and studies on Neo-Paganism are analyzed. I draw the conclusion that Neo-Paganism can empower women in different ways, however, this can be influenced by socio-cultural factors, as empowerment can look very different in different countries. The result is meant to provide us with an understanding of women’s needs in a religious and spiritual context, so that women may become empowered within their religious communities.

Advances in technology allow to build computer systems of ever increasing performances and capabilities. However, the effective use of such computational resources is often made difficult by the complexity of the system itself. Crucial to the performance of a computing device is the orchestration of the flow of data across the memory hierarchy. Specifically, given a fast but small memory (a cache) through which all the data that have to be processed must pass, it is necessary to establish a set of rules, then implemented by an algorithm, that define which data has to be evicted from such a memory to make room for new incoming data. The goal is that of minimizing the number of times that requested data is outside the cache (faults), since fetching data from farther levels of the memory hierarchy incurs high costs, in terms of time and also of energy. This thesis studies two generalizations of this problem, known as the paging problem. This problem is intrinsically online, as future data requests issued by a computer program are typically unknown. Motivated by the recent diffusion of multi-threaded and multi-core architectures, whereby several threads or processes can be executed simultaneously, and/or there are several processing units, and by the recent and rapidly growing interest in reducing power consumptions of computer systems, in the first part of the thesis we study a variation of paging which rewards the efficient usage of memory resources. In this problem the goal is that of minimizing a combination of both the number of faults and the cache occupancy of the process' data in fast memory. The main results of this part are two: the first is an impossibility result that indicates that, roughly speaking, online algorithms cannot compete in practice with algorithms that know in advance all the data requests issued by the process; the second is the design of an online algorithm that has almost the best performance among all the possible online algorithms. In the second part of the thesis we concentrate on the management of a cache shared among several concurrent processes. As outlined above, this has direct application in multi-threaded or multi-core architectures. In this problem the fast memory has to service a sequence of requests which is the interleaving of the requests issued by t different processes. Through its replacement decisions, the algorithm dynamically allocates the cache space among the processes, and this clearly impacts their progress. The main goal here is to minimize the time needed to complete the service of all the request sequences. We show tight lower and upper bounds on the performance of online algorithms for several variants of the problem.
Progressi tecnologici permettono la costruzione di sistemi di calcolo sempre piu' performanti. Tuttavia, l'uso efficace delle risorse di calcolo viene spesso reso difficoltoso dalla complessita' del sistema stesso. Cruciale verso l'ottenimento di buone performance e' la gestione del flusso di dati all'interno del sistema di memoria del calcolatore. In particolare, data una piccola ma veloce memoria (una cache), attraverso la quale tutti i dati che devono essere elaborati devono passare, e' necessario stabilire una serie di regole, che poi devono essere implementate da un algoritmo, che definiscono quali dati devono essere eliminati da tale memoria per fare posto a nuovi eventuali dati. L'obiettivo e' minimizzare il numero di volte che un dato viene richiesto e non si trova in cache (fault), perche' recuperare dati da memorie piu' lente e' costoso, sia in termini di tempo che di energia. Questa tesi studia due generalizzazioni di questo problema, conosciuto col nome di paging. Tale problema e' intrinsecamente online, poiche' le future richieste di dati da parte di un processo non sono tipicamente note. Motivati dalla recente diffusione di architetture di calcolo multi-threaded e multi-core, dove diversi thread o processi possono essere eseguiti simultaneamente, e/o dove sono presenti diverse unita' di calcolo, e dal recente interesse verso la riduzione del consumo energetico dei sistemi di calcolo, nella prima parte della tesi studiamo una variante del problema del paging dove viene premiato l'uso efficiente delle risorse di memoria. In questo problema l'obiettivo consiste nel minimizzare una combinazione sia del numero di fault che dell'occupazione in memoria dei dati di un processo. Due sono i risultati principali di questa parte: il primo e' un risultato di impossibilita' che indica che, nella pratica, algoritmi online non riescono competere con algoritmi che conoscono in anticipo le richieste di dati fatte dal processo; il secondo e' la definizione di un algoritmo online che ottiene all'incirca le migliori prestazioni tra tutti i possibili algoritmi online. Nella seconda parte della tesi ci concentriamo sulla gestione di una cache condivisa tra molteplici processi concorrenti. Come anticipato in precedenza, questo ha un'applicazione diretta nelle architetture multi-threaded e multi-core. In questo problema la memoria veloce deve servire una sequenza di richieste che provengono, in un certo ordine, da t diversi processi. Attreverso le scelte che opera, l'algoritmo di gestione alloca dinamicamente lo spazio disponibile in cache tra i vari processi, e questo ha un chiaro impatto sul loro avanzamento. Qui l'obiettivo principale e' minimizzare il tempo necessario alla completa esecuzione dei processi. Dimostriamo lower e upper bound stretti sulle performance raggiunte da algoritmi online per diversi varianti del problema.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the differences between the Cupid and Psyche tale found in Lucius Apuleius?s The Golden Ass and C.S. Lewis?s Till We Have Faces, with particular attention to how Lewis created a didactic non-allegorical mythopoeic Christian fantasy work from the original possibly allegorical pagan myth. The thesis focuses on the development of the Cupid and Psyche myth in Apuleius?s work, then draws comparisons to the significant differences Lewis makes in his own novel. Lewis?s basic Christian beliefs, specifically in relation to mythology, are discussed. This thesis was conceived as there is very little critical work that focuses on Till We Haves Faces and no in-depth research done comparing it to the second century story upon which it is based.

This thesis presents a study of Bardism, a genre of performance (of poetry, story, music, and song) found in contemporary Pagan movements. This research is informed by three principal theoretical positions: neo-tribal theory, performance theory, and postmodem critiques of methodologies of participant-observation (the position adopted here being one of reflexive ethnography). Research was undertaken within two study groups, contemporary Druidry and EcoPaganism. Overviews of belief and practice within these groups are presented. The processes by which individuals within these groups come to be identified as Bards are analysed. Bards must meet the neo-tribal expectations of performance: they acquire their skills by trial and error. The function of Bardic performance is analysed: Bards contribute to the invention and maintenance of tradition, and hence to the maintenance of neo-tribal identities. Identities are articulated and performed with reference to an imagined past. The contexts in which performance occurs, and staging arrangements are discussed. Performance typically occurs at events, festivals and camps, which disrupt the quotidian: they are camivalesque moments. Staging, within these moments, requires compliance with tacit codes of behaviour. The meanings signified by Bardic music, and Bardic choice of instruments, are discussed. Particular emphasis is given to the sound of the music. Finally an ethnography of practitioners' experiences of 'inspiration' or 'awen' is presented. The way in which non-ordinary experiences such as inspiration are legitimated is analysed. This work describes a previously unstudied aspect of Paganism. Further it contributes to the 'detraditionalisation' debate, by providing evidence for the emergence of new traditions, identities, and structurating forces within the neo-tribe.

Notre recherche porte sur les particularites architecturales des temples de pagan en birmanie (xeme-xiveme siecles) et leurs origines; elle a mis en evidence diverses sources d'inspiration : certaines sont en l'inde propre et en indonesie (java) et d'autres ont ete localisees en chine et en asie centrale. Les premieres ne surprendront pas dans le contexte du monde indianise auquel la birmanie esttraditionnellement associee. Celles provenant de chine et d'asie centrale ont en revanche ete ignorees aussi bien des indianistes que des sinologues, en raison du cloisonnement de leurs domaines de recherche. L'element le plus significatif est le pilierstupa (stupa-pfeiler), stupa qui a la forme d'un pilier carre, originaire des regions de tourfan et de dunhuang et typique de la periode des wei (veme-vieme siecles). A pagan, ce pilier-stupa sert d'axe central a un grand nombre de temples et recoit une image du bouddha sur chacune de ses faces. Le temple sseu men t'a dans la province chinoise du shantung, date de 544, nous est apparu si ce n'est comme un ancetre direct et certain, du moins comme un prototype probable de certains monuments de pagan. D'autres indices, tels que l'utilisation de la voute a claveaux ou encore les representations de pagode dans les fresques de certains edifices, confirment l'influence des ces voisins septentrionaux sur l'architecture de pagan. Ces formes et techniques ont semble-t-il emprunte les routes, attestees a partir du iierne siecle avt-j. C. , qui reliaient la chine a l'inde via la birmanie, depuis le yunnan jusqu'a l'assam. Notre travail remet donc en cause l'idee que la chine n'aurait exerce aucune influence culturelle sur les royaumes frontaliers d'asie du sud-est, excepte dans les deltas du tonkin et du nord-vietnam, comme le pensait pensait georges coedes : << ainsi, bien que pendant de longs siecles la chine ait exerce une tutelle politique plus ou moins effective sur ces pays (ceux de l'indochine septentrionale), sa civilisation ne s'est pas repandue au dela de ses conquetes militaires >>. L'ouverture de notre enquete sur le monde chinois a pu fournir des elements de reponses concernant l'origine de certaines formes et techniques utilisees a pagan; la meme chose vaut peut-etre pour d'autres regions frontalieres, qui ont toujours ete considerees comme uniquement indianisees.

The rational construction of the house. The writings and projects of Giuseppe Pagano Description, themes and research objectives The research aims at analysing the architecture of Giuseppe Pagano, which focuses on the theme of dwelling, through the reading of 3 of his house projects. On the one hand, these projects represent “minor” works not thoroughly known by Pagano’s contemporary critics; on the other they emphasise a particular methodological approach, which serves the author to explore a theme closely linked to his theoretical thought. The house project is a key to Pagano’s research, given its ties to the socio-cultural and political conditions in which the architect was working, so that it becomes a mirror of one of his specific and theoretical path, always in a state of becoming. Pagano understands architecture as a “servant of the human being”, subject to a “utilitarian slavery” since it is a clear, essential and “modest” answer to specific human needs, free from aprioristic aesthetic and formal choices. It is a rational architecture in sensu stricto; it constitutes a perfect synthesis between cause and effect and between function and form. The house needs to accommodate these principles because it is closely intertwined with human needs and intimately linked to a specific place, climatic conditions and technical and economical possibilities. Besides, differently from his public and common masterpieces such as the Palazzo Gualino, the Istituto di Fisica and the Università Commerciale Bocconi, the house projects are representative of a precise project will, which is expressed in a more authentic way, partially freed from political influences and dogmatic preoccupations and, therefore, far from the attempt to research a specific expressive language. I believe that the house project better represents that “ingenuity”, freshness and “sincerity” that Pagano identifies with the minor architecture, thereby revealing a more authentic expression of his understanding of a project. Therefore, the thesis, by tracing the theoretical research of Pagano through the analysis of some of his designed and built works, attempts to identify a specific methodological approach to Pagano’s project, which, developed through time, achieves a certain clarity in the 1930s. In fact, this methodological approach becomes more evident in his last projects, mainly regarding the house and the urban space. These reflect the attempt to respond to the new social needs and, at the same time, they also are an expression of a freer idea of built architecture, closely linked with the place and with the human being who dwells it. The three chosen projects (Villa Colli, La Casa a struttura d’acciaio and Villa Caraccio) make Pagano facing different places, different customers and different economic and technical conditions, which, given the author’s biography, correspond to important historical and political conditions. This is the reason why the projects become apparently distant works, both linguistically and conceptually, to the point that one can define them as ”eclectic”. However, I argue that this eclecticism is actually an added value to the architectural work of Pagano, steaming from the use of a method which, having as a basis the postulate of a rational architecture as essence and logic of building, finds specific variations depending on the multiple variables to be addressed by the project. This is the methodological heritage that Pagano learns from the tradition, especially that of the rural residential architecture, defined by Pagano as a “dictionary of the building logic of man”, as an “a-stylistic background”. For Pagano this traditional architecture is a clear expression of the relationships between a theme and its development, an architectural “fact” that is resolved with purely technical and utilitarian aims and with a spontaneous development far from any aprioristic theoretical principle. Architecture, therefore, cannot be an invention for Pagano and the personal contribution of each architect has to consider his/her close relationship with the specific historical context, place and new building methods. These are basic principles in the methodological approach that drives a great deal of his research and that also permits his thought to be modern. I argue that both ongoing and new collaborations with younger protagonists of the culture and architecture of the period are significant for the development of his methodology. These encounters represent the will to spread his own understanding of the “new architecture” as well as a way of self-renewal by confronting the self with new themes and realities and by learning from his collaborators. Thesis’ outline The thesis is divided in two principal parts, each articulated in four chapters attempting to offer a new reading of the theory and work of Pagano by emphasising the central themes of the research. The first chapter is an introduction to the thesis and to the theme of the rational house, as understood and developed in its typological and technical aspects by Pagano and by other protagonists of the Italian rationalism of the 1930s. Here the attention is on two different aspects defining, according to Pagano, the house project: on the one hand, the typological renewal, aimed at defining a “standard form” as a clear and essential answer to certain needs and variables of the project leading to different formal expressions. On the other, it focuses on the building, understood as a technique to “produce” architecture, where new technologies and new materials are not merely tools but also essential elements of the architectural work. In this way the villa becomes different from the theme of the common house or from that of the minimalist house, by using rules in the choice of material and in the techniques that are every time different depending on the theme under exploration and on the contingency of place. It is also visible the rigorous rationalism that distinguishes the author's appropriation of certain themes of rural architecture. The pages of “Casabella” and the events of the contemporary Triennali form the preliminary material for the writing of this chapter given that they are primary sources to individuate projects and writings produced by Pagano and contemporary architects on this theme. These writings and projects, when compared, reconstruct the evolution of the idea of the rational house and, specifically, of the personal research of Pagano. The second part regards the reading of three of Pagano’s projects of houses as a built verification of his theories. This section constitutes the central part of the thesis since it is aimed at detecting a specific methodological approach showing a theoretical and ideological evolution expressed in the vast edited literature. The three projects that have been chosen explore the theme of the house, looking at various research themes that the author proposes and that find continuity in the affirmation of a specific rationalism, focussed on concepts such as essentiality, utility, functionality and building honesty. These concepts guide the thought and the activities of Pagano, also reflecting a social and cultural period. The projects span from the theme of the villa moderna, Villa Colli, which, inspired by the architecture of North Europe, anticipates a specific rationalism of Pagano based on rigour, simplicity and essentiality, to the theme of the common house, Casa a struttura d’acciaio, la casa del domani, which ponders on the definition of new living spaces and, moreover, on new concepts of standardisation, economical efficiency and new materials responding to the changing needs of the modern society. Finally, the third project returns to the theme of the, Villa Caraccio, revisiting it with new perspectives. These perspectives find in the solution of the open plant, in the openness to nature and landscape and in the revisiting of materials and local building systems that idea of the freed house, which express clearly a new theoretical thought. Methodology It needs to be noted that due to the lack of an official Archive of Pagano’s work, the analysis of his work has been difficult and this explains the necessity to read the articles and the drawings published in the pages of «Casabella» and «Domus». As for the projects of Villa Colli and Casa a struttura d’acciaio, parts of the original drawings have been consulted. These drawings are not published and are kept in private archives of the collaborators of Pagano. The consultation of these documents has permitted the analysis of the cited works, which have been subject to a more complete reading following the different proposed solutions, which have permitted to understand the project path. The projects are analysed thought the method of comparison and critical reading which, specifically, means graphical elaborations and analytical schemes, mostly reconstructed on the basis of original projects but, where possible, also on a photographic investigation. The focus is on the project theme which, beginning with a specific living (dwelling) typology, finds variations because of the historico-political context in which Pagano is embedded and which partially shapes his research and theoretical thought, then translated in the built work. The analysis of the work follows, beginning, where possible, from a reconstruction of the evolution of the project as elaborated on the basis of the original documents and ending on an analysis of the constructive principles and composition. This second phase employs a methodology proposed by Pagano in his article Piante di ville, which, as expected, focuses on the plant as essential tool to identify the “true practical and poetic qualities of the construction”(Pagano, «Costruzioni-Casabella», 1940, p. 2). The reading of the project is integrated with the constructive analyses related to the technical aspects of the house which, in the case of Casa a struttura d’acciaio, play an important role in the project, while in Villa Colli and in Villa Caraccio are principally linked to the choice of materials for the construction of the different architectural elements. These are nonetheless key factors in the composition of the work. Future work could extend this reading to other house projects to deepen the research that could be completed with the consultation of Archival materials, which are missing at present. Finally, in the appendix I present a critical selection of the Pagano’s writings, which recall the themes discussed and embodied by the three projects. The texts have been selected among the articles published in Casabella and in other journals, completing the reading of the project work which cannot be detached from his theoretical thought. Moving from theory to project, we follow a path that brings us to define and deepen the central theme of the thesis: rational building as the principal feature of the architectural research of Pagano, which is paraphrased in multiple ways in his designed and built works.

The rational construction of the house. The writings and projects of Giuseppe Pagano Description, themes and research objectives The research aims at analysing the architecture of Giuseppe Pagano, which focuses on the theme of dwelling, through the reading of 3 of his house projects. On the one hand, these projects represent “minor” works not thoroughly known by Pagano’s contemporary critics; on the other they emphasise a particular methodological approach, which serves the author to explore a theme closely linked to his theoretical thought. The house project is a key to Pagano’s research, given its ties to the socio-cultural and political conditions in which the architect was working, so that it becomes a mirror of one of his specific and theoretical path, always in a state of becoming. Pagano understands architecture as a “servant of the human being”, subject to a “utilitarian slavery” since it is a clear, essential and “modest” answer to specific human needs, free from aprioristic aesthetic and formal choices. It is a rational architecture in sensu stricto; it constitutes a perfect synthesis between cause and effect and between function and form. The house needs to accommodate these principles because it is closely intertwined with human needs and intimately linked to a specific place, climatic conditions and technical and economical possibilities. Besides, differently from his public and common masterpieces such as the Palazzo Gualino, the Istituto di Fisica and the Università Commerciale Bocconi, the house projects are representative of a precise project will, which is expressed in a more authentic way, partially freed from political influences and dogmatic preoccupations and, therefore, far from the attempt to research a specific expressive language. I believe that the house project better represents that “ingenuity”, freshness and “sincerity” that Pagano identifies with the minor architecture, thereby revealing a more authentic expression of his understanding of a project. Therefore, the thesis, by tracing the theoretical research of Pagano through the analysis of some of his designed and built works, attempts to identify a specific methodological approach to Pagano’s project, which, developed through time, achieves a certain clarity in the 1930s. In fact, this methodological approach becomes more evident in his last projects, mainly regarding the house and the urban space. These reflect the attempt to respond to the new social needs and, at the same time, they also are an expression of a freer idea of built architecture, closely linked with the place and with the human being who dwells it. The three chosen projects (Villa Colli, La Casa a struttura d’acciaio and Villa Caraccio) make Pagano facing different places, different customers and different economic and technical conditions, which, given the author’s biography, correspond to important historical and political conditions. This is the reason why the projects become apparently distant works, both linguistically and conceptually, to the point that one can define them as ”eclectic”. However, I argue that this eclecticism is actually an added value to the architectural work of Pagano, steaming from the use of a method which, having as a basis the postulate of a rational architecture as essence and logic of building, finds specific variations depending on the multiple variables to be addressed by the project. This is the methodological heritage that Pagano learns from the tradition, especially that of the rural residential architecture, defined by Pagano as a “dictionary of the building logic of man”, as an “a-stylistic background”. For Pagano this traditional architecture is a clear expression of the relationships between a theme and its development, an architectural “fact” that is resolved with purely technical and utilitarian aims and with a spontaneous development far from any aprioristic theoretical principle. Architecture, therefore, cannot be an invention for Pagano and the personal contribution of each architect has to consider his/her close relationship with the specific historical context, place and new building methods. These are basic principles in the methodological approach that drives a great deal of his research and that also permits his thought to be modern. I argue that both ongoing and new collaborations with younger protagonists of the culture and architecture of the period are significant for the development of his methodology. These encounters represent the will to spread his own understanding of the “new architecture” as well as a way of self-renewal by confronting the self with new themes and realities and by learning from his collaborators. Thesis’ outline The thesis is divided in two principal parts, each articulated in four chapters attempting to offer a new reading of the theory and work of Pagano by emphasising the central themes of the research. The first chapter is an introduction to the thesis and to the theme of the rational house, as understood and developed in its typological and technical aspects by Pagano and by other protagonists of the Italian rationalism of the 1930s. Here the attention is on two different aspects defining, according to Pagano, the house project: on the one hand, the typological renewal, aimed at defining a “standard form” as a clear and essential answer to certain needs and variables of the project leading to different formal expressions. On the other, it focuses on the building, understood as a technique to “produce” architecture, where new technologies and new materials are not merely tools but also essential elements of the architectural work. In this way the villa becomes different from the theme of the common house or from that of the minimalist house, by using rules in the choice of material and in the techniques that are every time different depending on the theme under exploration and on the contingency of place. It is also visible the rigorous rationalism that distinguishes the author's appropriation of certain themes of rural architecture. The pages of “Casabella” and the events of the contemporary Triennali form the preliminary material for the writing of this chapter given that they are primary sources to individuate projects and writings produced by Pagano and contemporary architects on this theme. These writings and projects, when compared, reconstruct the evolution of the idea of the rational house and, specifically, of the personal research of Pagano. The second part regards the reading of three of Pagano’s projects of houses as a built verification of his theories. This section constitutes the central part of the thesis since it is aimed at detecting a specific methodological approach showing a theoretical and ideological evolution expressed in the vast edited literature. The three projects that have been chosen explore the theme of the house, looking at various research themes that the author proposes and that find continuity in the affirmation of a specific rationalism, focussed on concepts such as essentiality, utility, functionality and building honesty. These concepts guide the thought and the activities of Pagano, also reflecting a social and cultural period. The projects span from the theme of the villa moderna, Villa Colli, which, inspired by the architecture of North Europe, anticipates a specific rationalism of Pagano based on rigour, simplicity and essentiality, to the theme of the common house, Casa a struttura d’acciaio, la casa del domani, which ponders on the definition of new living spaces and, moreover, on new concepts of standardisation, economical efficiency and new materials responding to the changing needs of the modern society. Finally, the third project returns to the theme of the, Villa Caraccio, revisiting it with new perspectives. These perspectives find in the solution of the open plant, in the openness to nature and landscape and in the revisiting of materials and local building systems that idea of the freed house, which express clearly a new theoretical thought. Methodology It needs to be noted that due to the lack of an official Archive of Pagano’s work, the analysis of his work has been difficult and this explains the necessity to read the articles and the drawings published in the pages of «Casabella» and «Domus». As for the projects of Villa Colli and Casa a struttura d’acciaio, parts of the original drawings have been consulted. These drawings are not published and are kept in private archives of the collaborators of Pagano. The consultation of these documents has permitted the analysis of the cited works, which have been subject to a more complete reading following the different proposed solutions, which have permitted to understand the project path. The projects are analysed thought the method of comparison and critical reading which, specifically, means graphical elaborations and analytical schemes, mostly reconstructed on the basis of original projects but, where possible, also on a photographic investigation. The focus is on the project theme which, beginning with a specific living (dwelling) typology, finds variations because of the historico-political context in which Pagano is embedded and which partially shapes his research and theoretical thought, then translated in the built work. The analysis of the work follows, beginning, where possible, from a reconstruction of the evolution of the project as elaborated on the basis of the original documents and ending on an analysis of the constructive principles and composition. This second phase employs a methodology proposed by Pagano in his article Piante di ville, which, as expected, focuses on the plant as essential tool to identify the “true practical and poetic qualities of the construction”(Pagano, «Costruzioni-Casabella», 1940, p. 2). The reading of the project is integrated with the constructive analyses related to the technical aspects of the house which, in the case of Casa a struttura d’acciaio, play an important role in the project, while in Villa Colli and in Villa Caraccio are principally linked to the choice of materials for the construction of the different architectural elements. These are nonetheless key factors in the composition of the work. Future work could extend this reading to other house projects to deepen the research that could be completed with the consultation of Archival materials, which are missing at present. Finally, in the appendix I present a critical selection of the Pagano’s writings, which recall the themes discussed and embodied by the three projects. The texts have been selected among the articles published in Casabella and in other journals, completing the reading of the project work which cannot be detached from his theoretical thought. Moving from theory to project, we follow a path that brings us to define and deepen the central theme of the thesis: rational building as the principal feature of the architectural research of Pagano, which is paraphrased in multiple ways in his designed and built works.

La tesi ha come scopo sviscerare l’attività di Matteo Pagano, attraverso un’attenta analisi delle sue opere come incisore e stampatore e, sorprendentemente, anche come medaglista. Per quanto riguarda il suo ruolo di incisore, l’interesse verterà principalmente sulla sia attività come illustratore per l’Apocalisse contenuta nella Bibbia luterana tradotta da Antonio Brucioli, quindi anche sul clima culturale e religioso che influenza la sua produzione. Successivamente si passerà a una breve analisi delle altre opere come incisore di frontespizi per testi editi da vari stampatori Veneziani. In seguito verrà indagata la produzione della sua bottega di stampa, attiva per più di vent’anni: inizialmente il suo impegno nel doppio ruolo di incisore e stampatore di carte geografiche, anche in collaborazione con il cartografo Giacomo Gastaldi, parallelamente all’avvio della sua bottega di stampa in cui vengono stampati testi dei generi più diversi, dai libri di modello per i ricami agli opuscoli di carattere popolare, passando per testi di letteratura classica e fogli sciolti di diversa natura. Infine un ultimo capitolo indagherà anche la sua breve ma significativa attività come medaglista al servizio di Tommaso Rangone, medico e astrologo Veneziano, figura molto particolare legata ad artisti quali Alessandro Vittoria, Sansovino e Tintoretto

Although embodied knowing is fundamental to our experience, no previous study has detailed its role in a specific spiritual group. This thesis offers a new model of embodied situated cognition, and develops an embodied hermeneutics which uses Focusing in phenomenological research. I apply these tools to the first detailed ethnography of Eco-Paganism to reveal powerful processes of connection which have considerable significance for religious studies and ecopsychology. Chapters 2 and 3 survey the literature on Eco-Paganism and embodied cognition. Chapter 4 uses the latter to synthesise a model of embodied situated cognition which I call the 'enactive process model', because it draws primarily on enactivism (inter alia, Varela et al., 1991), and Gendhn's process philosophy (Gendlin, 1997). Current research shows that key aspects of cognition are situated and embodied (inter alia, Varela et al, 1991), such that we often think with place (inter alia, Preston, 2003). This raises epistemological questions which I address in a discussion of embodied philosophy in Chapter 5. I then explain my embodied hermeneutics methodology, and the practical application of the Focusing Interview technique, in Chapter 6. My fieldwork autoethnography, Chapter 7, provides an intuitive, felt understanding of life on a road protest site, and is followed by ethnographies of urban and protest site Eco-Paganism in Chapters 8 and 9. Chapter 10 discusses six processes which create a sense of connection to the organic environment, which include the felt sense (Gendlin, 1981) and the wilderness effect (Greenway, 1995).

Contemporary understandings of ethics consistently situate them as the result of a focussed rational and intellectual process within a narrow range of academic and religious areas. I challenge this approach, and theorise an embodied approach to ethics as both possible and desirable. I argue that such an approach may be most easily located in the contemporary Pagan approach to environmental ethics, given that the rhetoric of Paganism valorises the body and privileges the natural environment. While I agree that Paganism is indeed a nature religion, I theorise that there are two simultaneous yet contradictory discourses of nature informing Paganism: the animist (privileging nature qua nature) and the esoteric (privileging a symbolic understanding of nature). I assert that my qualitative fieldwork demonstrates that some Pagans have developed an embodied ethic through close relationship with nature. I acknowledge that the development of such a profound relationship requires considerable effort and a great deal of time. I then compare this against quantitative data from an online survey of self-identifying Pagans in order to establish the extent to which such an approach might be representative. The Initial analysis of the online data supports the assertion that my respondents are likely to express positive attitudes to the environment, but are unlikely to participate in activism in relation to a number of specified areas. Deeper analysis compares the data between different groups identified along the animist/esoteric scale, and suggests that those Pagans who are more influenced by the animist discourse are indeed more likely to express environmentally friendly attitudes and to take part in activism. I conclude that such an embodied environmental ethic is possible, although this may be substantially contingent upon lifestyle. I posit that by understanding the diversity of discourses informing Pagan approaches to nature, academics may be able to more accurately interpret the diversity of Pagan approaches, and Pagans themselves may be able to move forward in discussions between their various traditions.

This thesis examines paganism in England from the late Victorian period to the outbreak of the First World War. It explores paganism as an aspect of cultural history and defines paganism as the use of images and ideas from the ancient, pre-Christian, Mediterranean world. It identifies the existence of a radical desire for paganism to be restored in the modem era and it asserts that although this desire cannot be separated into discrete groups or movements, it did manifest itself in different varieties. This thesis reveals that there were three different varieties of paganism in operation during our period; these are labelled 'responsible' paganism, 'decadent' paganism, and 'magical' paganism. The form and nature of these varieties of paganism are discussed, analysed, and placed in the context of the wider cultural situation. This thesis concludes that paganism was used in an attempt to satisfy both spiritual and human aspirations .

Cette thèse est orientée vers les problèmes de structures de pointeurs. La première partie est consacrée à la recherche des éléments qui résultent de décisions de conception pouvant influencer l'efficacité de l'exécution de LISP dans un environnement paginé. Le problème se résume en une recherche de la réduction du nombre de défauts de pages. Nous utilisons pour cela un ensemble de mesures qui permettent de cerner les points cruciaux tels que : structure de l'espace virtuel, espace de travail, ramasse-miettes. Nous étudions plusieurs méthodes de stockage des symboles (chaînes de caractères permettant de repérer toute entité) pour en évaluer leurs performances. Toutes les conclusions tirées sont mises en application directement sur l'interrogation d'une base de données en exploitation l'UTC
This thesis discusses problems related to pointer data structures. The first part is concerned with results of design decisions that can influence execution efficiency in a paged LISP environment. The main problem can be summarized as a continuing search to reduce the number of page faults. Measurements are used to distinguish crucial points such as structure of core memory, working set sizes and garbage collection. We study several storage implementations of symbols (strings of characters identifying each entities) and we evaluate their performances. The conclusions are applied directly to query data base a used at UTC

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Recursos Genéticos Vegetais, Florianópolis, 2014
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Iniciativas de Pagamento por Serviços Ambientais (PSA) se espalharam rapidamente no Brasil na última década, somando atualmente cerca de uma centena de programas nos diferentes biomas brasileiros. O uso deste instrumento de conservação ambiental passou a ser visto como uma estratégia para compensar o produtor rural pela perda de áreas produtivas para a conservação da biodiversidade e pela provisão de serviços ambientais fundamentais para a sociedade brasileira. No entanto, a aplicação deste instrumento enfrenta uma série de limitações que incluem a baixa adicionalidade dos programas, o alto custo de oportunidade da terra e o risco de criar uma cultura no meio rural onde é apenas pagando que se preserva. Esta tese se propôs a avaliar como uma política de PSA pode contribuir para a conservação de recursos florestais no âmbito do Corredor Ecológico (CE) Chapecó-SC, incluindo análises sobre a percepção de benefícios e uso de recursos florestais, a avaliação de sinergias e trade-offs entre cenários de políticas de conservação ambiental e da disposição de produtores rurais em participarem de um programa de PSA. Foram entrevistados 100 produtores rurais, 49 representantes de instituições tomadoras de decisão, duas cooperativas de produtos agrícolas e duas ervateiras. Cenários de políticas ambientais (Código Florestal de 1965, Código Ambiental Catarinense, Baixa Efetividade Legal) foram simulados no aplicativo InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Trade-offs), bem como a provisão de oito bens e serviços ambientais. Os serviços de provisão e de regulação foram aqueles reconhecidos com maior frequência pelos entrevistados. A disponibilidade hídrica ocupou o primeiro lugar (65%), seguido pela manutenção de hábitat para biodiversidade (34%) e lenha (23%). A renda e o uso local de recursos florestais foram as variáveis que melhor explicaram a percepção dos produtores rurais sobre os benefícios da floresta. No entanto, foi preciso o uso de três recursos florestais para que um benefício da floresta fosse percebido, indicando uma certa limitação no reconhecimento do valor da floresta em pé para o estabelecimento agropecuário. As restrições legais potencializam esta baixa percepção, pois dificultam o uso dos recursos florestais e, consequentemente, o reconhecimento do seu valor. Mudanças em políticas de conservação ambiental podem impactar significativamente a provisão de serviços ambientais no CE Chapecó. O cenário do Código Florestal de 1965 produziu os maiores ganhos para serviços ambientais, enquanto o cenário de Baixa Efetividade Legal favoreceu a expansão de commodities. Foram observados trade-offs entre commodities, carbono e qualidade de hábitat. A flexibilização do Código Florestal de 1965 afetará a provisão de serviços ambientais, e provavelmente irá interferir em programas de PSA na Mata Atlântica. Quanto à motivação dos produtores em participar de um programa de PSA, 94% dos entrevistados mostraram interesse em participar de um programa voltado à conservação da floresta em pé, e apenas 48% estavam interessados na recuperação florestal. O valor médio declarado para participação em um programa de recuperação florestal (R$361,00/hectare/ano) foi 62% maior do que o valor médio declarado para conservação da floresta, mesmo que os custos da recuperação sejam arcados pelo programa. A escolaridade constituiu a variável de maior relevância para determinar os valores mínimos declarados para conservação, enquanto o custo de oportunidade foi a variável de maior relevância para recuperação florestal. Pequenos produtores rurais mostraram-se mais interessados em aderir ao PSA. Esta característica pode resultar em maior equidade de acesso ao programa e uma chance de melhoria das condições sociais locais, no entanto, corre-se o risco de que os objetivos primários da criação do CE Chapecó sejam comprometidos. O modelo de gestão do CE Chapecó baseado no Sistema de Créditos de Conservação (SICC) e no capital semente como instrumentos de PSA, apresenta algumas limitações. A lacuna de tempo e a incerteza de participação dos produtores rurais no esquema do SICC podem gerar efeitos perversos, tais como a conversão das áreas incluídas originalmente no programa para as práticas danosas anteriores. Na proposta de PSA do CE Chapecó, os pagamentos não podem ser descolados de uma ação mais integradora das comunidades, tendo em vista uma mudança na percepção sobre a relevância dos recursos florestais e um reforço de valores morais e éticos associados às formações florestais. Esta estratégia é fundamental como forma de afastar o risco de se criar uma cultura no meio rural onde seja apenas pagando que se preserva.

Abstract: Payments for Environmental Services (PES) have spread rapidly in Brazil in the last decade, representing currently around one hundred initiatives in different biomes. The use of this environmental conservation policy is seen as a strategy to compensate farmers for the loss of productive areas for biodiversity conservation and the provision of essential environmental services for the Brazilian society. However, the implementation of this tool faces a number of constraints that include low additionality, high opportunity costs and the risk of creating a culture in rural areas where preservation requires payment. This thesis aimed at evaluating how a PES policy may support the conservation of forest resources at the Chapecó Ecological Corridor (CEC) including: the evaluation of farmers perceptions regarding the benefits and the use of forest resources, their willingness to participate in forest conservation and restoration activities, as well as the minimum value they are willing to accept to take part in a PES program. One hundred farmers, 49 representatives of local institutions, 2 farmers' cooperatives and two mate-herb fabrics were interviewed. Environmental policy scenarios (National ForestCode from 1965, State Environmental Code, No Policy Option) were modeled in InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Trade-offs), as well as eight environmental goods and services. Provision and regulating services were those recognized most frequently by the farmers interviewed. The water quality and availability ranked first (65%), followed by the maintenance of habitat for biodiversity (34%) and fire-wood (23%). The income and local use of forest resources were the variables that best explained the perception of farmers about the benefits provided by forests. However, it is necessary the use of three forest resources so one forest benefit is distinguished, demonstrating a certain limitation on acknowledging the value of the standing forest by the famers. Environmental legislation influenced the low perception of forests' benefits as it prohibits the use of forest resources and, consequently, interferes in the recognition of its value. Changes in environmental conservation policies can impact considerably the provision of environmental services in the CEC. The Forest Code from 1965 scenario produced the largest increase of environmental services, while the No Policy Option scenario favored the expansion of commodities. Trade-offs between commodities, carbon and habitat quality for biodiversity were observed. The change of the Forest Code from 1965 will affect the provision of environmental services, and will probably interfere on PES programs in the Atlantic Forest. Regarding the motivation of farmers to participate in a PES program, 94% expressed interest in a program focused on forest conservation, and only 48% were interested in forest restoration. The mean minimum value for enrolling at a PES program for forest restoration (R$ 361.00/ha/year) was 62% higher than the mean minimum value for forest conservation, even if the costs to restore the forest are provided by the program. Scholarity was the most relevant variable to influence the stated minimum values for forest conservation, while the opportunity cost was the most important variable influencing the values stated for forest restoration. Small family farmers were more motivated to enroll in the PES program. This aspect can result in a more equitable access to the program, improving the local social conditions, however there is a risk that the CEC primary goals can be compromised. The Conservation Credit System (SICC) and the seed capital planned as the main tools for the CEC implementation have some constraints. The gap between the end of one scheme and the start of the other, and the uncertainty of participation in the SICC scheme may generate perverse incentives, such as the conversion of areas originally included in the program to the old environmental unfriendly activities. In the proposed PES scheme, payments should not be disconnected from a more integrative action with the involved communities. It should include activities that foster a change infamers' perception about the importance of forest resources and it should strength moral and ethical values associated with forests. This strategy is essential in order to avoid the risk of creating a culture in rural areas where preservation requires payments.

This thesis offers a close study of three sets of late Roman texts that are (auto)biographical in nature and concern the presentation of lives of pagan holy men, their spiritual quest and their personal encounters with the Divine. The thesis starts with an Introduction, where the aims of the study are defined, followed by three chapters that deal successively with 1) The Sacred Tales of Aelius Aristides 2) Philostratus' Life ofApollonius of Tyana 3) Neoplatonic biographical works, i. e., Porphyry's Life ofPlotinus and the Life of Pythagoras, Iamblichus' On the Pythagorean Way of Life, Eunapius' Lives of the Philosophers, Marinus' Life ofProclus, and Damascius' Philosophical History (also known as Life oflsidore). The main goal of the thesis is the elucidation of the theological content of the aforementioned (auto)biographical texts, which is based on a detailed examination of (a) the means used in the process of contacting the Divine or even achieving union with It; (b) the ways in which this contact or union takes place, given the psychological and spiritual conditioning of the seekers; (c) the effect that the phenomenon of union has both on the pagan holy men themselves and on their followers and their environment in general. In ordert o achievet he goal of the thesis,t he interpretationo f the sourcesc ombines (auto)biographya ndi ts religious/p hilosophicalb ackground:in otherw ords,t he theological content of each source is explicated in the light of its spiritual and intellectual foundations. This particular kind of analysis shows that the accounts of personal encounters with the Divine under study share -despite their differences- a number of similar elements or patterns (presented in an orderly way in the fourth, and concluding, chapter), hence revealing that certain features of Neoplatonic spirituality can be detected in earlier literary expressions of Graeco-Roman religious thought

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Bachelors
Visual Arts and Design
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This study investigates the representation of Saracens in Boiardo's Inamoramento de Orlando and Ariosto's Orlando furioso, a subject that has attracted growing scholarly interest in recent years. Chapter I assesses the degree of realism in Boiardo's and Ariosto's portrayal of Islam and Islamic culture and locates the two poems in their historical context. Bringing to light unpublished archival material and other little-known historical sources, I argue that Boiardo and Ariosto drew inspiration from contemporary courtly culture which was characterised by openness towards the figure of the foreign prince. Chapter II explores Boiardo's engagement with earlier chivalric literature. It examines Boiardo's use of names and characters from earlier texts and evaluates the Saracens' contribution to the ideology that underpins the poem. It is shown that Saracens play an important role in promoting the ‘Arthurian’ chivalric ideals. Chapters III and IV analyse Ariosto's indebtedness to and departures from his predecessor, suggesting that there is a much greater continuity between the two Orlandos than is allowed by Cavallo and other scholars who are anxious to stress Ariosto's 'conservatism'. While chapter III is devoted to a wide-ranging analysis of the Saracen world in Ariosto, chapter IV deals with a topic that has recently generated much heated debate, namely the climactic confrontation between Rodomonte and Ruggiero and the ending of the Orlando furioso and how it should be understood, and I propose a new interpretation of the final canto by highlighting the concept of honour, a fundamental value for both Boiardo and Ariosto as well as for their early readers and for many chivalric authors alike. In my view, Rodomonte is the true winner of the duel. The significance of his 'moral' victory is examined in the study's final conclusion, where it is argued that it undermines Ariosto’s encomiastic project.