Artículos de revistas sobre el tema "Antigua – fiction"

The core values of China’s famed <em>wuxia </em>(heroic fiction) literature and cinema developed in response to the chaos and warfare of the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.E.). In English, probably the best commercial source of information on this topic is Professor James J.Y. Liu’s book, <em>The Chinese Knight-Errant</em> (1967), which unfortunately is out of print. This article is based on that book, along with the author’s academic and literary work on the East Asian hero. These heroic values appear to be rooted in individualism, which would seem to contradict the region’s vaunted sense of group cohesiveness.

The paper intends to reread Jamaica Kincaid’s short story, ‘Girl’ (1978) and provide new insights into its understanding. It aims to analyse the poetic qualities, word choice, and structure of the text that are left not fully discussed by recent scholarship. The structure as well as the poetic language of ‘Girl’ make it an unconventional piece of writing falling between two literary categories and so hard to classify. ‘Girl’ apparently violates rules and transgresses conventions by being both poetic and going beyond the traditional fictional structure of a short story. The paper argues that ‘Girl’ is an unconventional piece of literature that crosses the borders of a short story to poetry. First, it obviously lacks the traditional structure to be classified as a short story. Second, the text embraces several poetic techniques which reveal it as poetry written in prose. Therefore, the paper purports to carefully consider the poetic techniques and rhetorical devices found in ‘Girl’ and make it much closer to a prose poem than a short story. The story depicts a pre-adolescent female being dictated by the instructions of a sharp-tongued mother who teaches her how to become a lady- both in the private setting of the house as well as in public- in contrast to what it is like for a woman growing up in Antigua. The paper’s considerations of Kincaid’s depictions of mother, daughter, and their relationship illuminate the poetic traits found including repetition, sound devices and word choice. The paper’s interpretation of ‘Girl’ reveals its poetic nature for being thoroughly repetitive and alliterative piece. The text’s repetitive quality does not only stimulate the reader’s intellectual appreciation of the text’s thematic notions and meanings but also promotes an overall unifying effect.

<p class="western" align="justify"><span><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', serif;">El objetivo de este artículo es analizar el vínculo entre la desmemoria causada por el conflicto bélico de la Guerra Civil española y la desintegración del universo narrativo que sustenta la ficción literaria en </span><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', serif;"><em>El oscurecer (un encuentro) (2002) </em></span><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', serif;">de Luis Mateo Díez, un mundo ficticio que está a punto de desaparecer. De acuerdo con esto, el estudio se centra en diferentes elementos que arrojan luz sobre esta perspectiva: la desmemoria, la soledad, el silencio o la pérdida del lenguaje. </span></span></p><p class="western" align="justify"> </p><p class="Pa5">The purpose of this article is to analyze the link between the amnesia caused by the military conflict of the Spanish Civil World and the desintegration of narrative universe which supports the literary fiction in <em>El oscurecer (un encuentro) </em>(2002) by Luis Mateo Díez, a fictional world that is about to disappear. According to this, the study focuses on different aspects that shed light on this perspective: the forget­fulness, the isolation, the silence or the lack of language.</p><p class="western" align="justify"> </p><p class="Default"> </p><p class="western" align="justify"><span><span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', serif;"><br /></span></span></p>

-Lennox Honychurch, Robert L. Paquette ,The lesser Antilles in the age of European expansion. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1996. xii + 383 pp., Stanley L. Engerman (eds)-Kevin A. Yelvington, Gert Oostindie, Ethnicity in the Caribbean: Essays in honor of Harry Hoetink. London: Macmillan Caribbean, 1996. xvi + 239 pp.-Aisha Khan, David Dabydeen ,Across the dark waters: Ethnicity and Indian identity in the Caribbean. London: Macmillan Caribbean, 1996. xi + 222 pp., Brinsley Samaroo (eds)-Tracey Skelton, Ralph R. Premdas, Ethnic conflict and development: The case of Guyana. Brookfield VT: Ashgate, 1995. xi + 205 pp.-Rosemarijn Hoefte, Basdeo Mangru, A history of East Indian resistance on the Guyana sugar estates, 1869-1948. Lewiston NY: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1996. xiv + 370 pp.-Rosemarijn Hoefte, Clem Seecharan, 'Tiger in the stars': The anatomy of Indian achievement in British Guiana 1919-29. London: Macmillan, 1997. xxviii + 401 pp.-Brian Stoddart, Frank Birbalsingh, The rise of Westindian cricket: From colony to nation. St. John's, Antigua: Hansib Publishing (Caribbean), 1996. 274 pp.-Donald R. Hill, Peter van Koningsbruggen, Trinidad Carnival: A quest for national identity. London: Macmillan Caribbean, 1997. ix + 293 pp.-Peter van Koningsbruggen, John Cowley, Carnival, Canboulay and Calypso: Traditions in the making. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. xv + 293 pp.-Olwyn M. Blouet, George Gmelch ,The Parish behind God's back : The changing culture of rural Barbados. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1997. xii + 240 pp., Sharon Bohn Gmelch (eds)-George Gmelch, Mary Chamberlain, Narratives of exile and return. London: Macmillan, 1997. xii + 236 pp.-Michèle Baj Strobel, Christiane Bougerol, Une ethnographie des conflits aux Antilles: Jalousie, commérages, sorcellerie. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1997. 161 pp.-Abdollah Dashti, Randy Martin, Socialist ensembles: Theater and state in Cuba and Nicaragua. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1994. xii + 261 pp.-Winthrop R. Wright, Jay Kinsbruner, Not of pure blood: The free people of color and racial prejudice in nineteenth-century Puerto Rico. Durham NC: Duke University Press, 1996. xiv + 176 pp.-Gage Averill, Deborah Pacini Hernandez, Bachata: A social history of a Dominican popular music. Philadelphia PA: Temple University Press, 1995. xxiii + 267 pp.-Vera M. Kutzinski, Lorna Valerie Williams, The representation of slavery in Cuban fiction. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1994. viii + 220 pp.-Peter Mason, Elmer Kolfin, Van de slavenzweep en de muze: Twee eeuwen verbeelding van slavernij in Suriname. Leiden: Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 1997. 184 pp.-J. Michael Dash, Jean-Pol Madou, Édouard Glissant: De mémoire d'arbes. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1996. 114 pp.-Ransford W. Palmer, Jay R. Mandle, Persistent underdevelopment: Change and economic modernization in the West Indies. Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach, 1996. xii + 190 pp.-Ramón Grossfoguel, Juan E. Hernández Cruz, Corrientes migratorias en Puerto Rico/Migratory trends in Puerto Rico. Edición Bilingüe/Bilingual Edition. San Germán: Caribbean Institute and Study Center for Latin America, Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, 1994. 195 pp.-Gert Oostindie, René V. Rosalia, Tambú: De legale en kerkelijke repressie van Afro-Curacaose volksuitingen. Zutphen: Walburg Pers, 1997. 338 pp.-John M. Lipski, Armin J. Schwegler, 'Chi ma nkongo': Lengua y rito ancestrales en El Palenque de San Basilio (Colombia). Frankfurt: Vervuert, 1996. 2 vols., xxiv + 823 pp.-Umberto Ansaldo, Geneviève Escure, Creole and dialect continua: Standard acquisition processes in Belize and China (PRC). Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1997. ix + 307 pp.

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G is a nonclassical MHC class I molecule with modulatory effects on NK and T cells. Unlike classical HLA class I molecules, HLA-G has seven isoforms, three of which are soluble. Soluble HLA-G molecules are reportedly able to transduce negative signals to immune cells after interacting with their corresponding receptors. The expression of these molecules plays significant roles in maternal tolerance against semi-allogenic fetuses. Overexpression of HLA-G in tumors and increased serum levels of soluble HLA-G have been reported in different malignancies, and these changes may be involved in tumoral immune evasion and cancer progression. To improve immune responses against tumor cells, the downmodulation of HLA-G by siRNA or blocking monoclonal antibodies can be helpful in cancer immunotherapy. Additionally, HLA-G can be considered a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and/or prognosis of certain cancers. Although polymorphism of the HLA-G gene-coding region is more limited than in classical HLA class I, some genetic variations in regulatory regions of the gene control the expression level of this molecule. Furthermore, epigenetic factors such as infections may affect the expression of HLA-G in infection-related cancers.

As reproduções de objetos artísticos em gesso, galvanoplastia ou fotografi a assumiram-se como instrumentos fundamentais no quadro da museologia da segunda metade do século XIX, mais especifi camente no contexto das práticas colecionísticas, expositivas e pedagógicas dos museus de artes ornamentais, industriais ou decorativas. A Academia Real de Belas-Artes de Lisboa (ARBAL) formará coleções desta natureza, seja para fins de ensino académico ou fins museológicos. No presente texto debruçar-nos-emos em torno de uma coleção inédita de trinta e duas peças em gesso que reproduzem placas de marfim esculpido – os designados fictile ivories –, atualmente no acervo do Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (MNAA), e que resultam de uma importante oferta do South Kensington Museum de Londres, em 1866, à Academia Real de Belas-Artes de Lisboa. Analisaremos o fenómeno da importância internacional das reproduções, a oferta realizada pelo museu londrino, a especifi cidade dos fictile ivories neste âmbito e, considerando as limitações de uma investigação ainda em curso, apresentaremos alguns dados de caraterização desta coleção.

The Bacille Calmette-Guérin or BCG vaccine, the only vaccine available against Mycobacterium tuberculosis can induce a marked Th1 polarization of T-cells, characterized by the antigen-specific secretion of IFN-γ and enhanced antiviral response. A number of studies have supported the concept of protection by non-specific boosting of immunity by BCG and other microbes. BCG is a well-known example of a trained immunity inducer since it imparts ‘non-specific heterologous’ immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for the recent pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 continues to inflict an unabated surge in morbidity and mortality around the world. There is an urgent need to devise and develop alternate strategies to bolster host immunity against the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) and its continuously emerging variants. Several vaccines have been developed recently against COVID-19, but the data on their protective efficacy remains doubtful. Therefore, urgent strategies are required to enhance system immunity to adequately defend against newly emerging infections. The concept of trained immunity may play a cardinal role in protection against COVID-19. The ability of trained immunity-based vaccines is to promote heterologous immune responses beyond their specific antigens, which may notably help in defending against an emergency situation such as COVID-19 when the protective ability of vaccines is suspicious. A growing body of evidence points towards the beneficial non-specific boosting of immune responses by BCG or other microbes, which may protect against COVID-19. Clinical trials are underway to consider the efficacy of BCG vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 on healthcare workers and the elderly population. In this review, we will discuss the role of BCG in eliciting trained immunity and the possible limitations and challenges in controlling COVID-19 and future pandemics.

Resumo: O objetivo deste artigo é discutir alguns aspectos teóricos sobre a categoria de espaço na literatura contemporânea. A análise do romance Am Kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee (1999), do escritor alemão Thomas Brussig, demonstra que o autor constrói o espaço ficcional como miniatura, por meio da redução de um trecho de rua na antiga Berlim Oriental que assume a função de centro das ações romanescas.Palavras-chave: espaço ficcional; romance de rua; Am Kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee.Abstract: The objective of this article is to discuss some theoretical aspects about the space in the contemporary literature. On analyzing the novel Am Kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee (1999), by the German writer Thomas Brussig, this paper argues that the author constructs the fictional space like a miniature by reduction of a small street in the former East Berlin as center of the actions.Keywords: fictional space; street novel; Am Kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee.

<p>El relato breve, una de las formas literarias más antiguas constituye en su configuración moderna, un producto del siglo XIX; momento éste en que el desarrollo del género se vio favorecido por factores tales como el auge del periodismo. Y, sin embargo, el cuento es objeto de una marginación crítica que obedece a motivos como: la inexistencia de una definición estable del género, la confusión terminológica o la diversidad metodológica. La falta de atención crítica se hace notar en el terreno del relato breve decimonónico, no abordado sino de forma parcial y a través de sus más destacados cultivadores (Alas, Pardo Bazán o Alarcón). Al lado de éstos, y en un segundo plano, se sitúa un amplio grupo de escritores, mediocres en la mayor parte de los casos, pero que contribuyen, con su obra, a escribir la historia del género. Juan Ochoa (1864-1899) es uno de estos oscuros escritores de segunda fila. Con la aproximación a su breve obra narrativa (tres novelas cortas y una docena de cuentos) se pretende, por una parte, singularizar al relato breve como género, y por otra, si bien sólo en la práctica, delimitar las áreas concernientes al cuento y a la novela corta. Al primer objetivo responde el manejo de cinco principios estructurales (cuya base fundamental es el libro de Genette, 1972): tiempo, modo, voz, personaje y recurrencias. Al segundo se llega tras el análisis de éstos, que resultan formulados de distinta manera en el cuento y en la novela corta. El trabajo concluye señalando la escasa originalidad (manifiesta especialmente en el lenguaje) de un escritor que se mueve, la mayor parte de las veces, siguiendo modelos ajenos. Con todo, lo mejor de su producción es la novelita Un alma de Dios (1898), sin duda su obra más elaborada.</p><p>Short fiction ¿one of the oldest literary forms¿ got finto its present shape during the 19th century, when the development of the genre was favoured by such a circumstance as newspapers boom.</p><p>However, short story has been set aside by criticism because of some reasons as: need for a steady genre definition, confused terminology and too much diversity in methodology.</p><p>This lack of critical interest becomes more noticeable since short story hasn't been considered other than partially and only through its most outstanding exponents (Alas, Pardo Bazán or Alarcón).</p><p>Besides them -although in a lower level as most of all are second rate- we find an important group of writers who contributed significantly to the development of this genre.</p><p>Juan Ochoa (1864-1899) is one of these very little known authors. Our approach to his short fiction works (three short novels and a dozen of short stories) intends to attain two purposes: first, to individualize short fiction as a genre; and second, to delimit -only in practice- the areas concerning particulaly short story and short novel.</p><p>For the first object, we have used five structural principies (on the basis of Genette's 1972 book): time, mode, voice, characters and concurrences. Then, we get the second aim after the analysis of these principies which show us that short story and short novel are not two different genres, but two different ways of making the same suppositions.</p><p>The final conclusion of our paper proves the scarce originality -specially concerning language- of a writer who very often followed foreign patterns. Nevertheless, we can point out that his best work was a short novel titled Un alma de Dios (1898), his most elaborated text whithout any doubt.</p>

<p>Dante i Llull, que van ser contemporanis durant cinquanta anys, si alguna cosa tenen en comú, és la condició d’inteŀlectuals laics, conscients de les respectives missions. Els versos 460-462 del<em> Llibre de Fortuna i Prudència</em> de Bernat Metge (1381) són el primer símptoma de la recepció creativa de Dante. L’estada d’Andreu Febrer a l’efímera cort siciliana de Martí el Jove i la circulació de la <em>Silloge boccaccesca</em> apunten a les vies d’entrada de la influència dantesca en la lírica del xv. Les tesis doctorals de Francesc Gómez i de Raquel Parera confirmen el pes de l’aparat exegètic en la recepció de la Commedia, com es posa de manifest tant a la traducció íntegra en vers que en va fer Andreu Febrer com al <em>Tractat de les penes particulars d’infern</em> de fra Joan Pasqual, i la teoria de la ficció de l’Anònim del <em>Curial e Güelfa</em> té aquesta mateixa font. L’ús literari de Dante en Ausiàs March que va plantejar un treball pioner de Costanzo Di Girolamo continua demanant nova atenció. Les pistes que podrien connectar Dante amb Muntaner i amb altres escriptors com Turmeda són tan estimulants com especulatives.</p><p><br />The strongest parallel between Dante and Llull is having been two medieval vernacular writers well aware of their respective missions. Lines 460-462 of <em>Llibre de Fortuna i Prudència</em> by Bernat Metge (1381) are the first symptom of Dante’s creative reception. Andreu Febrer’s connection to the ephemeral Sicilian court of Martí el Jove and the circulation of the <em>Silloge boccaccesca</em> indicate the incoming of Dante’s influence in the poetry of the fifteenth century. The PhD thesis by Francesc Gómez and Raquel Parera corroborate that the exegetic apparatus had an outstanding role in the reception of the <em>Commedia</em>, which can be verified both in its unabridged versified translation by Andreu Febrer and in the <em>Tractat de les penes particulars d’infern</em> by fra Joan Pasqual; the theory of fiction advocated by the anonymous <em>Curial e Güelfa</em> author derives from this same source. A pioneering paper by Costanzo Di Girolamo revealed the literary presence of Dante in Ausiàs March’s poetry, which is a subject requiring new attention. Some clues connecting Dante to Muntaner and to other writers like Turmeda, even if stimulating, are lacking evidence.</p>

Este trabajo parte del concepto de que los textos literarios reconstruyen un escenario ficcional en el que se representa y reactualiza una memoria colectiva que es reflejo, también cooperante, en la producción de los cambios sociales y el imaginario de una sociedad, e influyen en la enculturación y formación de la construcción de la identidad de sus lectores. Tomando como espacio de estudio la cultura española de finales del siglo XX y centrado el análisis en tres textos pertinentes a la literatura infantil y juvenil donde la niña ficcional cumple una función protagónica: Veva y el Mar, Caperucita en Manhattan y Bella y Oscura, se busca descubrir, a través de la memoria literaria, los procesos de cambio que se produjeron en nuestro imaginario colectivo; la convivencia de antiguas y nuevas relaciones que el texto establecía con su lector y las identidades que se pretendieron formar a través de la literatura juvenil difundida por la sociedad. This essay is based upon the concept that literary texts build a fictional scenario where the collective memory is represented and actualized. The collective memory is a reflection as well as cooperating agent in the production of social changes where literary texts influence the reader’s processes of enculturation and construction of identity. The study is framed in the late 20th century and it is focussed on the analysis of Children and Young literature where the fictional girl is the main character: Veva y el Mar, Caperucita en Manhattan y Bella y Oscura. The essay aims at defining the processes of change that took place in the collective imaginary through the analysis of the literary memory as well as the coexistence of old and new relationships that the texts establishes with its interpreters and the identities which were moulded by the literature of that time.

RESUMEN: En la Epístola V dedicada al Conde de Lemos, Lope propone un juego de máscaras y de personas, de sujetos reales y de configuraciones ficcionales a efectos de recuperar el favor de su antiguo mecenas. La intencionalidad del mensaje se manifiesta a través de una fantasía alegórica concretizada en el plano onírico. En la dialéctica realidad/ensoñación, Lope aborda las tensiones entre el prestigio literario y la pobreza apremiante, entre la autoexaltación y el descrédito público, entre la experiencia vivencial y la creación poética. Autobiografía y proyecto literario se fusionan, una vez más, para enaltecer a un Lope que, a pesar de todo y contra todos, se ufana de ser poeta. ABSTRACT: In Epistle V dedicated to the count of Lemos, Lope proposes a game of masks and people, real subjects and fictional configurations in order to regain the favor of his former patron. The intentionality of the message is manifested through an allegorical fantasy concretized in the dream plane. In the dialectic reality / reverie, Lope addresses the tensions between literary prestige and pressing poverty, between self-exaltation and public discredit, between experiential experience and poetic creation. Autobiography and literary project merge, once again, to praise a Lope who, despite everything and against everyone, prides himself on being a poet

Background:Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) commonly affects young women in their reproductive age group. However, there is an increase prevalence of late-onset SLE, parallel to the higher life expectancies among general populations worldwide. It has been reported that up to 25% SLE populations have a later onset of disease and their disease expression and course may be different.Objectives:To determine the clinical features and outcomes of late-onset SLE patients in a multi-ethnic Malaysian cohort.Methods:Medical records of SLE patients who attended regular follow-up clinics in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) from 2011 until June 2019 were reviewed. Late-onset SLE was defined as the onset of SLE symptoms or diagnosis after the age of 50 years old. Information on their socio-demographics and disease characteristics were obtained from the clinical records. Disease damage was assessed using the SLICC/ACR (Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology) Damage Index (SDI) scores. The disease characteristics and autoantibody profiles were compared between late-onset and younger onset patients. Damage accrual at disease onset and at 5 years was obtained and compared between the two groups.Results:A total of 429 patients were included and majority of them were Malays (n= 225, 52.4%) followed by Chinese (n=180, 42), Indian (n=21, 4.9%) and others (n=3,0.7%). This multi-ethnic SLE cohort was consisted of predominantyly female patients (n=372,86.7%) with disease duration of 9.9 years ± 6.8 years. A total of 13.8% (n=59) had late onset SLE with mean onset of disease at 58.1 ± 6.3 years while younger group was 27.2 ± 9.4 years. The commonest system involvement among the late-onset group was haematological manifestation (69.5%).Compared to the younger-onset SLE, late-onset SLE occurred significantly higher among the Chinese (66.1%) as compared to Malay (32.3%), Indians and other ethnics (1.7%), p<0.01. Patients with late-onset SLE also had significantly less musculoskeletal (37.3% vs 62.4%) and renal (23.7% vs 71.1%), p<0.001 and tend to have less muco-cutanoues manifestations (28.8 vs 42.4%, p=0.06). Meanwhile, pulmonary involvement was more common among the late onset SLE patients (11.9% vs 0.8%, p<0.001). Extractable nuclear antigen (ENA) results were available in 197 patients and patients with late-onset SLE had significantly higher rate of anti-RO positive (63% vs 3.9%), p=0.01. Otherwise, no significant difference in the other autoantibodies expressions including anti-La, anti-Sm, anti-RNP, anti-ribosomal P and anti-phospholipid antibodies. Patients with late-onset SLE tend to have more damage accrual at 5 years as compared to the younger age group (p=0.07). The mortality in the late onset group was 13.6% (n=8) as compared to 2.7% (n=10) in the younger age group, p=0.01. Majority of the cause of death in the later onset SLE was infection (87.5%) while in the younger age group was infection and active disease (90%).Conclusion:Late onset SLE occurs more commonly among Chinese ethnics in Malaysia and Malaysian SLE patients with late onset of the disease have distinct clinical manifestations. Damage accrual at 5 years tend to be higher in the late-onset group and the mortality is significantly higher with the major cause of death is infection. The different disease expression and outcome in late onset SLE suggest different factors in influencing the disease course and hence further studies including their genetic profiles are warranted.References:[1]Paula I. Burgos; Graciela S. Alarcón. Late-onset Lupus: Facts and Fiction. Future Rheumatol. 2008;3(4):351-356.[2]S Stefanidou, C Gerodimos, A Benos et al. Clinical expression and course in patients with late onset systemic lupus erythematosus. Hippokratia. 2013; 17(2): 153–156.Acknowledgments:This research was supported by the “Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS/1/2018/SKK02/UKM/03/1)” by Ministry of Education MalaysiaDisclosure of Interests:Syahrul Sazliyana Shaharir: None declared, Mohd Shahrir Mohamed Said: None declared, Sakthiswary Rajalingham Speakers bureau: Pfizer (500USD), Hazlina Mahadzir: None declared, Ruslinda Mustafar: None declared, Asrul Abdul Wahab: None declared

-Edward L. Cox, Judith A. Carney, Black rice: The African origin of rice cultivation in the Americas. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 2001. xiv + 240 pp.-David Barry Gaspar, Brian Dyde, A history of Antigua: The unsuspected Isle. Oxford: Macmillan Education, 2000. xi + 320 pp.-Carolyn E. Fick, Stewart R. King, Blue coat or powdered wig: Free people of color in pre-revolutionary Saint Domingue. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2001. xxvi + 328 pp.-César J. Ayala, Birgit Sonesson, Puerto Rico's commerce, 1765-1865: From regional to worldwide market relations. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center Publications, 200. xiii + 338 pp.-Nadine Lefaucheur, Bernard Moitt, Women and slavery in the French Antilles, 1635-1848. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001. xviii + 217 pp.-Edward L. Cox, Roderick A. McDonald, Between slavery and freedom: Special magistrate John Anderson's journal of St. Vincent during the apprenticeship. Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press, 2001. xviii + 309 pp.-Jaap Jacobs, Benjamin Schmidt, Innocence abroad: The Dutch imagination and the new world, 1570-1670. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001. xxviii + 450 pp.-Wim Klooster, Johanna C. Prins ,The Low countries and the New World(s): Travel, Discovery, Early Relations. Lanham NY: University Press of America, 2000. 226 pp., Bettina Brandt, Timothy Stevens (eds)-Wouter Gortzak, Gert Oostindie ,Knellende koninkrijksbanden: Het Nederlandse dekolonisatiebeleid in de Caraïben, 1940-2000. Volume 1, 1940-1954; Volume 2, 1954-1975; Volume 3, 1975-2000. 668 pp. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2001., Inge Klinkers (eds)-Richard Price, Ellen-Rose Kambel, Resource conflicts, gender and indigenous rights in Suriname: Local, national and global perspectives. Leiden, The Netherlands: self-published, 2002, iii + 266.-Peter Redfield, Richard Price ,Les Marrons. Châteauneuf-le-Rouge: Vents d'ailleurs, 2003. 127 pp., Sally Price (eds)-Mary Chamberlain, Glenford D. Howe ,The empowering impulse: The nationalist tradition of Barbados. Kingston: Canoe Press, 2001. xiii + 354 pp., Don D. Marshall (eds)-Jean Stubbs, Alejandro de la Fuente, A Nation for All: Race, Inequality, and Politics in Twentieth-Century Cuba. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001. xiv + 449 pp.-Sheryl L. Lutjens, Susan Kaufman Purcell ,Cuba: The contours of Change. Boulder CO: Lynne Rienner, 2000. ix + 155 pp., David J. Rothkopf (eds)-Jean-Germain Gros, Robert Fatton Jr., Haiti's predatory republic: The unending transition to democracy. Boulder CO: Lynn Rienner, 2002. xvi + 237 pp.-Elizabeth McAlister, Beverly Bell, Walking on fire: Haitian Women's Stories of Survival and Resistance. Ithaca NY: Cornell University Press, 2001. xx + 253 pp.-Gérard Collomb, Peter Hulme, Remnants of conquest: The island Caribs and their visitors, 1877-1998. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. 371 pp.-Chris Bongie, Jeannie Suk, Postcolonial paradoxes in French Caribbean Writing: Césaire, Glissant, Condé. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. 216 pp.-Marie-Hélène Laforest, Caroline Rody, The Daughter's return: African-American and Caribbean Women's fictions of history. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. x + 267 pp.-Marie-Hélène Laforest, Isabel Hoving, In praise of new travelers: Reading Caribbean migrant women's writing. Stanford CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. ix + 374 pp.-Catherine Benoît, Franck Degoul, Le commerce diabolique: Une exploration de l'imaginaire du pacte maléfique en Martinique. Petit-Bourg, Guadeloupe: Ibis Rouge, 2000. 207 pp.-Catherine Benoît, Margarite Fernández Olmos ,Healing cultures: Art and religion as curative practices in the Caribbean and its diaspora. New York: Palgrave, 2001. xxi + 236 pp., Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert (eds)-Jorge Pérez Rolón, Charley Gerard, Music from Cuba: Mongo Santamaría, Chocolate Armenteros and Cuban musicians in the United States. Westport CT: Praeger, 2001. xi + 155 pp.-Ivelaw L. Griffith, Anthony Payne ,Charting Caribbean Development. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2001. xi + 284 pp., Paul Sutton (eds)-Ransford W. Palmer, Irma T. Alonso, Caribbean economies in the twenty-first century. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2002. 232 pp.-Glenn R. Smucker, Jennie Marcelle Smith, When the hands are many: Community organization and social change in rural Haiti. Ithaca NY: Cornell University Press, 2001. xii + 229 pp.-Kevin Birth, Nancy Foner, Islands in the city: West Indian migration to New York. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001. viii + 304 pp.-Joy Mahabir, Viranjini Munasinghe, Callaloo or tossed salad? East Indians and the cultural politics of identity in Trinidad. Ithaca NY: Cornell University Press, 2001. xv + 315 pp.-Stéphane Goyette, Robert Chaudenson, Creolization of language and culture. Revised in collaboration with Salikoko S. Mufwene. London: Routledge, 2001. xxi + 340 pp.

There is an old and close relationship between comic and journalism which is reflected in newspapers through caricatures, bullet points and comic strips. However, comic journalism has emerged in the last decades as a new genre, a creative formula that hybridize comic codes and routines with narratives resources used in inmersive journalism. In the early 1990s, Joe Sacco stood out among a number of authors who popularized this new format, became aware of the journalistic genre condition as an information medium and sought his own formula for telling non-fiction stories. The photographer, originally published in 2003, involved the inclusion of photographs to make this formula more realistic and to describe Didier Lefèvre´s experience in the war in Afghanistan in 1986. In 2016, journalists Carlos Spottorno and Guillermo Abril published The crack, a story that once again mixes journalism and comic codes, where photographs subjected to a special chromatic treatment replace the drawings in each vignette. This study analyzes the impact and evolution of comic journalism through this field diary of two reporters who travel the path from Africa to the Arctic follow a boundary line that extends from Africa to the Artic, in order to unravel the causes and consequences of Europe’s identity crisis. A work translated into several languages and awarded with international prizes, which opens up new paths for narrative and aesthetic experimentation in the field of comic journalism. This paper takes as a starting point the theoretical review of the contributions made around the study of the connections between comic and journalism and focuses on the iconic-verbal analysis of The crack, completing the work methodology with open-ended interviews with the authors of the mentioned work. Resumen La relación entre el cómic y el periodismo es antigua y estrecha, con su reflejo en los diarios a través de la caricatura, la viñeta y la tira cómica. Sin embargo, en las últimas décadas ha surgido un nuevo género: el periodismo cómic, una fórmula creativa que hibrida códigos y rutinas del cómic con recursos narrativos propios del periodismo de inmersión. A principios de los años noventa, Joe Sacco destacó entre una serie de autores que popularizaron este nuevo formato, tomó conciencia de la condición del cómic como género informativo y buscó una fórmula propia para contar historias de no ficción. El fotógrafo, publicado originalmente en 2003, supuso la inclusión de fotografías para dar mayor realismo a esta fórmula y narrar la experiencia vivida por Didier Lefèvre en la guerra de Afganistán en 1986. En 2016, los periodistas Carlos Spottorno y Guillermo Abril publican La grieta, un relato que vuelve a mezclar códigos procedentes del periodismo y del cómic, donde fotografías sometidas a un tratamiento cromático especial sustituyen a los dibujos en cada viñeta. El presente estudio analiza el impacto y la evolución del periodismo cómic a través de este diario de campo de dos reporteros que recorren una línea fronteriza que comienza en África y llega hasta el Ártico, con el fin de desentrañar las causas y consecuencias de la crisis de identidad de Europa. Una obra traducida a varios idiomas y merecedora de varios premios internacionales, que abre nuevas vías de experimentación narrativa y estética en el terreno del periodismo cómic. El presente trabajo toma como punto de partida la revisión teórica de las aportaciones realizadas en torno al estudio de las conexiones entre cómic y periodismo y se centra en el análisis icónico-verbal de La grieta, completando la metodología de trabajo con entrevistas abiertas a los autores de la citada obra.

Many educators believe that the intellectual, national, cultural, religious, and literary foundations of each generation are laid in childhood and adolescence. An important part of this is the responsibility of each country's education system. Textbooks are one of the most important tools in this formation. Persian books are a means of narrating human thoughts and imaginations due to their attention to fiction. The present article is a research on the books of Persian literature of the old educational system and Persian of the new educational system. In this study, we intend to examine the books of Persian language and literature of the old system and the Persian books of the second secondary school in the new educational system. Classical literature, contemporary literature, poetic, prose and fusion literature, Iranian and world literature are some of the components that are examined in this research. The authors appear to have focused on the text in older books and to pay more attention to self-examination in new books. This indicates that the new books emphasize greater student engagement.

Este artigo apresenta uma reflexão sobre as formas de sociabilidade e as relações sociais que habitavam o espaço urbano do Beco do Rosário na Porto Alegre dos anos 1920. Inspiradas pela problemática da espacialização das relações de dominação de classe na urbanização das cidades e da incipiente presença do recorte de raça como central para compreensão desta questão, as autoras convidam os leitores a compartilharem de uma "ficcionalização do passado", (Pesavento, 2003) na linguagem da história em quadrinhos. A partir da perspectiva da personagem Vitória a narrativa busca lançar luz sobre um imaginário possível do ser menina e negra nesta época e enfoca as micro resistências cotidianas (Scott, 2002) de combate aos estereótipos e à discriminação acionadas pela menina. Esta produção de uma "ficção controlada", como a chama Pesavento, propõe não apenas falar de um passado que se "inventa" a partir de fontes de pesquisa primárias e secundárias disponíveis no presente (relatórios da municipalidade, notas de imprensa, mapas e plantas oficiais, atas de vereança, desenhos e literatura), mas também convida o leitor a refletir sobre possíveis quebras de dicotomias entre verdade e ficção, ciência e literatura. Palavras-chave: História Urbana. Beco do Rosário. História em QuadrinhosBeco do Rosário: space and sociabilities of an alley in Porto AlegreAbstractThis article presents a reflection on the forms of sociability and social relations that inhabited the Beco do Rosário urban space in Porto Alegre in the 1920s. Inspired by the problem of spatial relations of class domination in the urbanization of cities and the incipient presence of issue of race as a central matter to understand it, the authors invite readers to share in a "fictionalization of the past" (Pesavento, 2003) in the language of comics. From the perspective of the character Victoria, the narrative seeks to shed light on a possible imaginary of being both a girl and black at that time and focuses on the everyday microresistences (Scott, 2002) to combat stereotypes and discrimination triggered by the girl. This production of a "controlled fiction", as called by Pesavento, proposes not only to talk about a past "invented" from sources of primary and secondary research available at the present (the municipality reports, press releases, maps and official plans, municipal government minutes, drawings and literature), but also invites the reader to reflect on possible breakages of dichotomies between fact and fiction, science and literature.Key words: Urban History. Beco do Rosário. Comics.

Este trabajo ofrece un análisis comparativo de las características propias de la comedia palliata de Plauto (comediógrafo romano del siglo II a.C.) y de los elementos definitorios de la sitcom, género televisivo de gran aceptación popular. A través de este planteamiento, los autores pretenden poner de manifiesto la existencia de una tradición cómica que, de forma continua, ha ido transmitiendo una serie de rasgos sin conciencia de su origen remoto. Desde esta perspectiva, la sitcom permite explicar con un enfoque contemporáneo el rotundo éxito que en su momento gozó la comedia plautina y, a la inversa, ciertos patrones compositivos del teatro antiguo dan la pauta para entender la gran influencia del fenómeno televisivo que supone la sitcom.Palabras clave: Plauto, comedia palliata, cultura popular, sitcom, recepción, cultura clásica.AbstractThis paper offers a comparative analysis of the features of fabula togata by Plautus, a Roman writer of comedies of the 2nd century, and the defining characteristics of the successful TV genre, the sitcom. Using this approach, the authors aim to demonstrate the existence of a continuous tradition through which several comical features have been transmitted, without consciousness of their distant origin. Thus, the sitcom offers us an explanation, from a contemporary point of view, for the resounding success of the Plautinian comedy. Conversely, several composite elements of ancient theatre provide us with the key to understanding the reasons behind the great influence of the sitcom as a TV phenomenon.Keywords: Plautus, palliata, popular culture, sitcom, reception, classical culture.

La robótica, en particular la que tiene figura humana –androide- se muestra como un ámbito de desarrollo presente y futuro. Desde la Unión Europea se estudia la futura regulación de las cuestiones éticas y jurídicas que inciden en la robótica en su relación con el ser humano. Se pretende una regulación que persiga la protección de todas las personas que interactúen con robots. El estudio de la evolución de la imagen del robot es mucho más antiguo que su regulación, y está presente en prácticamente todas las disciplinas artísticas. En la cinematografía, en particular, la robótica es una temática recurrente dentro del ámbito de la ciencia ficción. En el artículo se presenta un estudio de la imagen y categoría ética del robot cinematográfico desde los orígenes del cine; analizando su visión desde el ser humano. En dicha evolución se observa el gran peso de la imagen androide, que genera respeto, miedo, incertidumbre; frente a los robots máquinas. Tras el estudio de la evolución de la imagen del robot resulta posible enfrentar con mayor claridad los retos jurídicos que se afrontan. La imagen del robot es fundamental; y más aún en los colectivos necesitados de una protección especial. Ello puede llevar a concluir la necesidad de controlar la imagen del robot y su semejanza con el ser humano en los supuestos de interacción con sujetos necesitados de protección, que no distingan fácilmente realidad de ficción, por razón de edad o de limitaciones físicas temporales o permanentes. Robotics, in particular that which has a human figure -android- is shown as a sphere of present and future development. The European Union studies the future regulation of ethical and legal issues that affect robotics in its relationship with human beings. The aim is to regulate the protection of all people who interact with robots. The study of the evolution of the image of the robot is much older than its regulation, and is present in virtually all artistic disciplines. In cinematography, in particular, robotics is a recurring theme within the field of science fiction. The article presents a study of the image and ethical category of the cinematographic robot from the origins of cinema; Analyzing his vision from the human being. In this evolution the great weight of the android image is observed, which generates respect, fear, uncertainty; in front of the robots machines. After studying the evolution of the robot's image, it is possible to face with greater clarity the legal challenges that are faced. The image of the robot is fundamental; and even more so in groups in need of special protection. This may lead to the conclusion of the need to control the image of the robot and its resemblance to the human being in the cases of interaction with subjects in need of protection, who do not easily distinguish reality from fiction, due to age or temporary or permanent physical limitations .

Resumo: Este trabalho dá continuidade a um estudo, publicado em 2008, que investigou as fontes gregas em “Campo geral”, primeira novela de Corpo de baile, de Guimarães Rosa. Naquela ocasião buscou-se demonstrar como Guimarães Rosa trabalhou na construção daquele universo ficcional e dos personagens que desempenham papel decisivo nos acontecimentos que o agitam, a partir de concepções míticas, em geral, e gregas antigas, em particular. Prosseguindo na mesma linha de interpretação, este trabalho estende a investigação a uma figura periférica, mas que desempenha uma função importante na novela. Trata-se de Vovó Izidra, personagem que, como se espera demonstrar aqui, melhor se revela em suas relações com outras duas, cada uma a seu modo, suas oponentes: Nhanina, a mãe de Miguilim, protagonista da estória, e Mãitina, velha negra, agregada imemorial da família. Quando observadas em conjunto, essas personagens parecem representar forças cósmicas – ou deuses – que se confrontam.Palavras-Chave: Guimarães Rosa; “Campo geral”; fontes gregas antigas.Abstract: This work is the sequel to a study published in 2008 that looked into the Greek sources in “Campo geral”, the first novella in Corpo de baile, by Guimarães Rosa. That paper aimed to show how Rosa, stemming from mythical conceptions, particularly from ancient Greece, constructed the fictional universe of the novella and the characters that play a vital role in it Following the same line of reasoning, this article broadens the investigation now focusing on a peripheral character named Vovó Izidra, who performs a key function in the story. She is the one character that best reveals herself in her relations with two other ones – her opponents – each one in her own way: Nhanina, the mother of Miguilim, the protagonist of the story, and Mãitina, an old black lady who has been in the family since immemorial times. Taken as a whole, these characters seem to represent cosmic powers – or gods – in confrontation with one another.Keywords: Guimarães Rosa; “Campo geral”; Ancient Greek Sources.

A slash manip is a photo remix that montages visual signs from popular media with those from gay pornography, creating a new cultural artefact. Slash (see Russ) is a fannish practice that homoeroticises the bonds between male media characters and personalities—female pairings are categorised separately as ‘femslash’. Slash has been defined almost exclusively as a female practice. While fandom is indeed “women-centred” (Bury 2), such definitions have a tendency to exclude male contributions. Remix has been well acknowledged in discussions on slash, most notably video remix in relation to slash vids (Kreisinger). Non-written slash forms such as slash vids (see Russo) and slash fanart (see Dennis) have received increased attention in recent years. This article continues the tradition of moving beyond fiction by considering the non-written form of slash manips, yet to receive sustained scholarly attention. Speaking as a practitioner—my slash manips can be found here—I perform textual analysis from an aca–fan (academic and fan) position of two Merlin slash manips by male Tumblr artist wandsinhand. My textual analysis is influenced by Barthes’s use of image semiotics, which he applies to the advertising image. Barthes notes that “all images are polysemous”, that underlying their signifiers they imply “a ‘floating chain’ of signifieds, the reader able to choose some and ignore others” (274). That said, the advertising image, he argues, constructs an “undoubtedly intentional […] signification”, making it ideally suited for analysis (270). By supplementing my analysis with excerpts from two interviews I conducted with wandsinhand in February and April 2013 (quoted here with permission), I support my readings with respect to the artist’s stated ‘intentional reading’. I then contextualise these readings with respect to canon (Merlin) representations and gay pornography—via the chosen sexual acts/positions, bukkake and doggystyle, of the pornographic base models, as selected by the artist. This approach allows me to examine the photo remix qualities of slash manips with respect to the artist’s intentions as well as how artistic choices of inclusion function to anchor meaning in the works. I describe these choices as the ‘semiotic significance of selection’. Together the readings and interviews in this article help illustrate the value of this form and the new avenues it opens for slash scholars, such as consideration of photo remix and male production, and the importance of gay pornography to slash. My interviews also reveal, via the artist’s own assessment of the ‘value’ of his practice, a tendency to devalue or overlook the significance of this particular slash form, affirming a real need for further critical engagement with this under-examined practice. Slash Photo Remix: Famous Faces, Porny Bodies Lessig defines remix culture as based on an activity of “rip, mix and burn” (12–5); while Navas describes it as a “practice of cut/copy and paste” (159)—the latter being more applicable to photo remix. Whereas Lessig is concerned primarily with issues of copyright, Navas is interested in remix’s role in aesthetics and the political economy. Within fan studies, slash vids—a form of video remix—has been a topic of considerable academic interest in recent years. Slash manips—a form of photo or image remix—however, has not attracted the same degree of interest. Stasi’s description of slash as “a non-hierarchical, rich layering of genres” points to the usefulness of slash manips as an embodiment of the process of slash; whereby artists combine, blend and mutate graphic layers from popular media with those from gay pornography. Aesthetics and the slash manip process are central concerns of this article’s consideration of slash photo remix. Slash manips, or slash photo montage, use image manipulation software (Adobe Photoshop being the community standard, see wandsinhand’s tutorial) to layer the heads of male fictional characters from stills or promotional images with scenes—static or moving—from gay pornography. Once an artist has selected pornographic ‘base models’ anatomically suited to canon characters, these models are often then repositioned into the canon universe, which in the case of Merlin means a medieval setting. (Works not repositioned and without added details from canon are generally categorised as ‘male celebrity fakes’ rather than ‘slash manips’.) Stedman contends that while many fan studies scholars are interested in remix, “studies commonly focus on examples of remixed objects rather than the compositional strategies used by remix composers themselves” (107). He advocates moving beyond an exclusive consideration of “text-centred approaches” to also consider “practice-” and “composer-centred” approaches. Such approaches offer insight into “the detailed choices composers actually make when composing” (107). He refers to recognition of the skills required by a remix composer as “remix literacy” (108). This article’s consideration of the various choices and skills that go into the composition of slash manips—what I term the ‘semiotic significance of selection’—is explored with respect to wandsinhand’s practice, coupling my reading—informed by my experience as a practitioner—with the interpretations of the artist himself. Jenkins defines slash as “reaction against” constructions of male sexuality in both popular media and pornography (189). By their very nature, slash manips also make clear the oft-overlooked connections between slash and gay pornography, and in turn the contributions of gay male participants, who are well represented by the form. This contrasts with a tendency within scholarship to compare slash with heterosexual female forms, such as the romance genre (Salmon and Symons). Gay pornography plays a visible role in slash manips—and slash vids, which often remix scenes from popular media with gay cinema and pornography. Slash as Romance, Slash as Pornography Early scholarship on slash (see Russ; Lamb and Veith) defines it as a form of erotica or pornography, by and for women; a reductive definition that fails to take into account men’s contribution, yet one that many researchers continue to adopt today. As stated above, there has also been a tendency within scholarship to align the practice with heterosexual female forms such as the romance genre. Such a tendency is by and large due to theorisation of slash as heterosexual female fantasy—and concerned primarily with romance and intimacy rather than sex (see Woledge). Weinstein describes slash as more a “fascination with” than a “representation of” homosexual relationships (615); while MacDonald makes the point that homosexuality is not a major political motivator for slash (28–9). There is no refuting that slash—along with most fannish practice—is female dominated, ethnographic work and fandom surveys reveal that is the case. However there is great need for research into male production of slash, particularly how such practices might challenge reigning definitions and assumptions of the practice. In similar Japanese practices, for example, gay male opposition to girls’ comics (shōjo) depicting love between ‘pretty boys’ (bishōunen) has been well documented (see Hori)—Men’s Love (or bara) is a subgenre of Boys’ Love (or shōnen’ai) predominately created by gay men seeking a greater connection with the lived reality of gay life (Lunsing). Dennis finds male slash fanart producers more committed to muscular representations and depiction of graphic male/male sex when compared with female-identifying artists (14, 16). He also observes that male fanart artists have a tendency of “valuing same-sex desire without a heterosexual default and placing it within the context of realistic gay relationships” (11). I have observed similar differences between male and female-identifying slash manip artists. Female-identifying Nicci Mac, for example, will often add trousers to her donor bodies, recoding them for a more romantic context. By contrast, male-identifying mythagowood is known for digitally enlarging the penises and rectums of his base models, exaggerating his work’s connection to the pornographic and the macabre. Consider, for example, mythagowood’s rationale for digitally enlarging and importing ‘lips’ for Sam’s (Supernatural) rectum in his work Ass-milk: 2012, which marks the third anniversary of the original: Originally I wasn’t going to give Sammy’s cunt any treatment (before I determined the theme) but when assmilk became the theme I had to go find a good set of lips to slap on him and I figured, it’s been three years, his hole is going to be MUCH bigger. (personal correspondence, used with permission) While mythagowood himself cautions against gendered romance/pornography slash arguments—“I find it annoying that people attribute certain specific aspects of my work to something ‘only a man’ would make.” (ibid.)—gay pornography occupies an important place in the lives of gay men as a means for entertainment, community engagement and identity-construction (see McKee). As one of the only cultural representations available to gay men, Fejes argues that gay pornography plays a crucial role in defining gay male desire and identity. This is confirmed by an Internet survey conducted by Duggan and McCreary that finds 98% of gay participants reporting exposure to pornographic material in the 30-day period prior to the survey. Further, the underground nature of gay pornographic film (see Dyer) aligns it with slash as a subcultural practice. I now analyse two Merlin slash manips with respect to the sexual positions of the pornographic base models, illustrating how gay pornography genres and ideologies referenced through these works enforce their intended meaning, as defined by the artist. A sexual act such as bukkake, as wandsinhand astutely notes, acts as a universal sign and “automatically generates a narrative for the image without anything really needing to be detailed”. Barthes argues that such a “relation between thing signified and image signifying in analogical representation” is unlike language, which has a much more ‘arbitrary’ relationship between signifier and signified (272). Bukkake and the Assertion of Masculine Power in Merlin Merlin (2008–12) is a BBC reimagining of the Arthurian legend that focuses on the coming-of-age of Arthur and his close bond with his manservant Merlin, who keeps his magical identity secret until Arthur’s final stand in the iconic Battle of Camlann. The homosexual potential of Merlin and Arthur’s story—and of magic as a metaphor for homosexuality—is something slash fans were quick to recognise. During question time at the first Merlin cast appearance at the London MCM Expo in October 2008—just one month after the show’s pilot first aired—a fan asked Morgan and James, who portray Merlin and Arthur, is Merlin “meant to be a love story between Arthur and Merlin?” James nods in jest. Wandsinhand, who is most active in the Teen Wolf (2011–present) fandom, has produced two Merlin slash manips to date, a 2013 Merlin/Arthur and a 2012 Arthur/Percival, both untitled. The Merlin/Arthur manip (see Figure 1) depicts Merlin bound and on his knees, Arthur ejaculating across his face and on his chest. Merlin is naked while Arthur is partially clothed in chainmail and armour. They are both bruised and dirty, Arthur’s injuries suggesting battle given his overall appearance, while Merlin’s suggesting abuse, given his subordinate position. The setting appears to be the royal stables, where we know Merlin spends much of his time mucking out Arthur’s horses. I am left to wonder if perhaps Merlin did not carry out this duty to Arthur’s satisfaction, and is now being punished for it; or if Arthur has returned from battle in need of sexual gratification and the endorsement of power that comes from debasing his manservant. Figure 1: wandsinhand, Untitled (Merlin/Arthur), 2013, photo montage. Courtesy the artist. Both readings are supported by Arthur’s ‘spent’ expression of disinterest or mild curiosity, while Merlin’s face emotes pain: crying and squinting through the semen obscuring his vision. The artist confirms this reading in our interview: “Arthur is using his pet Merlin to relieve some stress; Merlin of course not being too pleased about the aftermath, but obedient all the same.” The noun ‘pet’ evokes the sexual connotations of Merlin’s role as Arthur’s personal manservant, while also demoting Merlin even further than usual. He is, in Arthur’s eyes, less than human, a sexual plaything to use and abuse at will. The artist’s statement also confirms that Arthur is acting against Merlin’s will. Violence is certainly represented here, the base models having been ‘marked up’ to depict sexualisation of an already physically and emotionally abusive relationship, their relative positioning and the importation of semen heightening the humiliation. Wandsinhand’s work engages characters in sadomasochistic play, with semen and urine frequently employed to degrade and arouse—“peen wolf”, a reference to watersports, is used within his Teen Wolf practice. The two wandsinhand works analysed in this present article come without words, thus lacking a “linguistic message” (Barthes 273–6). However even so, the artist’s statement and Arthur’s stance over “his pet Merlin” mean we are still able to “skim off” (270) the meanings the image contains. The base models, for example, invite comparison with the ‘gay bukkake’ genre of gay pornography—admittedly with a single dominant male rather than a group. Gay bukkake has become a popular niche in North American gay pornography—it originated in Japan as a male–female act in the 1980s. It describes a ritualistic sexual act where a group of dominant men—often identifying as heterosexual—fuck and debase a homosexual, submissive male, commonly bareback (Durkin et al. 600). The aggression on display in this act—much like the homosocial insistency of men who partake in a ‘circle jerk’ (Mosher 318)—enables the participating men to affirm their masculinity and dominance by degrading the gay male, who is there to service (often on his knees) and receive—in any orifice of the group’s choosing—the men’s semen, and often urine as well. The equivalencies I have made here are based on the ‘performance’ of the bukkake fantasy in gay niche hazing and gay-for-pay pornography genres. These genres are fuelled by antigay sentiment, aggression and debasement of effeminate males (see Kendall). I wish here to resist the temptation of labelling the acts described above as deviant. As is a common problem with anti-pornography arguments, to attempt to fix a practice such as bukkake as deviant and abject—by, for example, equating it to rape (Franklin 24)—is to negate a much more complex consideration of distinctions and ambiguities between force and consent; lived and fantasy; where pleasure is, where it is performed and where it is taken. I extend this desire not to label the manip in question, which by exploiting the masculine posturing of Arthur effectively sexualises canon debasement. This began with the pilot when Arthur says: “Tell me Merlin, do you know how to walk on your knees?” Of the imported imagery—semen, bruising, perspiration—the key signifier is Arthur’s armour which, while torn in places, still ensures the encoding of particular signifieds: masculinity, strength and power. Doggystyle and the Subversion of Arthur’s ‘Armoured Self’ Since the romanticism and chivalric tradition of the knight in shining armour (see Huizinga) men as armoured selves have become a stoic symbol of masculine power and the benchmark for aspirational masculinity. For the medieval knight, armour reflects in its shiny surface the mettle of the man enclosed, imparting a state of ‘bodilessness’ by containing any softness beneath its shielded exterior (Burns 140). Wandsinhand’s Arthur/Percival manip (see Figure 2) subverts Arthur and the symbolism of armour with the help of arguably the only man who can: Arthur’s largest knight Percival. While a minor character among the knights, Percival’s physical presence in the series looms large, and has endeared him to slash manip artists, particularly those with only a casual interest in the series, such as wandsinhand: Why Arthur and Percival were specifically chosen had really little to do with the show’s plot, and in point of fact, I don’t really follow Merlin that closely nor am I an avid fan. […] Choosing Arthur/Percival really was just a matter of taste rather than being contextually based on their characterisations in the television show. Figure 2: wandsinhand, Untitled (Arthur/Percival), 2012, photo montage. Courtesy the artist. Concerning motivation, the artist explains: “Sometimes one’s penis decides to pick the tv show Merlin, and specifically Arthur and Percival.” The popularity of Percival among manip artists illustrates the power of physicality as a visual sign, and the valorisation of size and muscle within the gay community (see Sánchez et al.). Having his armour modified to display his muscles, the implication is that Percival does not need armour, for his body is already hard, impenetrable. He is already suited up, simultaneously man and armoured. Wandsinhand uses the physicality of this character to strip Arthur of his symbolic, masculine power. The work depicts Arthur with a dishevelled expression, his armoured chest pressed against the ground, his chainmail hitched up at the back to expose his arse, Percival threading his unsheathed cock inside him, staring expressionless at the ‘viewer’. The artist explains he “was trying to show a shift of power”: I was also hinting at some sign of struggle, which is somewhat evident on Arthur’s face too. […] I think the expressions work in concert to suggest […] a power reversal that leaves Arthur on the bottom, a position he’s not entirely comfortable accepting. There is pleasure to be had in seeing the “cocky” Arthur forcefully penetrated, “cut down to size by a bigger man” (wandsinhand). The two assume the ‘doggystyle’ position, an impersonal sexual position, without eye contact and where the penetrator sets the rhythm and intensity of each thrust. Scholars have argued that the position is degrading to the passive party, who is dehumanised by the act, a ‘dog’ (Dworkin 27); and rapper Snoop ‘Doggy’ Dogg exploits the misogynistic connotations of the position on his record Doggystyle (see Armstrong). Wandsinhand is clear in his intent to depict forceful domination of Arthur. Struggle is signified through the addition of perspiration, a trademark device used by this artist to symbolise struggle. Domination in a sexual act involves the erasure of the wishes of the dominated partner (see Cowan and Dunn). To attune oneself to the pleasures of a sexual partner is to regard them as a subject. To ignore such pleasures is to degrade the other person. The artist’s choice of pairing embraces the physicality of the male/male bond and illustrates a tendency among manip producers to privilege conventional masculine identifiers—such as size and muscle—above symbolic, nonphysical identifiers, such as status and rank. It is worth noting that muscle is more readily available in the pornographic source material used in slash manips—muscularity being a recurrent component of gay pornography (see Duggan and McCreary). In my interview with manip artist simontheduck, he describes the difficulty he had sourcing a base image “that complimented the physicality of the [Merlin] characters. […] The actor that plays Merlin is fairly thin while Arthur is pretty built, it was difficult to find one. I even had to edit Merlin’s body down further in the end.” (personal correspondence, used with permission) As wandsinhand explains, “you’re basically limited by what’s available on the internet, and even then, only what you’re prepared to sift through or screencap yourself”. Wandsinhand’s Arthur/Percival pairing selection works in tandem with other artistic decisions and inclusions—sexual position, setting, expressions, effects (perspiration, lighting)—to ensure the intended reading of the work. Antithetical size and rank positions play out in the penetration/submission act of wandsinhand’s work, in which only the stronger of the two may come out ‘on top’. Percival subverts the symbolic power structures of prince/knight, asserting his physical, sexual dominance over the physically inferior Arthur. That such a construction of Percival is incongruent with the polite, impeded-by-my-size-and-muscle-density Percival of the series speaks to the circumstances of manip production, much of which is on a taste basis, as previously noted. There are of course exceptions to this, the Teen Wolf ‘Sterek’ (Stiles/Derek) pairing being wandsinhand’s, but even in this case, size tends to couple with penetration. Slash manips often privilege physicality of the characters in question—as well as the base models selected—above any particular canon-supported slash reading. (Of course, the ‘queering’ nature of slash practice means at times there is also a desire to see such identifiers subverted, however in this example, raw masculine power prevails.) This final point is in no way representative—my practice, for example, combines manips with ficlets to offer a clearer connection with canon, while LJ’s zdae69 integrates manips, fiction and comics. However, common across slash manip artists driven by taste—and requests—rather than connection with canon—the best known being LJ’s tw-31988, demon48180 and Tumblr’s lwoodsmalestarsfakes, all of whom work across many fandoms—is interest in the ‘aesthetics of canon’, the blue hues of Teen Wolf or the fluorescent greens of Arrow (2012–present), displayed in glossy magazine format using services such as ISSUU. In short, ‘the look’ of the work often takes precedent over canonical implications of any artistic decisions. “Nothing Too Serious”: Slash Manips as Objects Worth Studying It had long been believed that the popular was the transient, that of entertainment rather than enlightenment; that which is manufactured, “an appendage of the machinery”, consumed by the duped masses and a product not of culture but of a ‘culture industry’ (Adorno and Rabinbach 12). Scholars such as Radway, Ang pioneered a shift in scholarly practice, advancing the cultural studies project by challenging elitism and finding meaning in traditionally devalued cultural texts and practices. The most surprising outcome of my interviews with wandsinhand was hearing how he conceived of his practice, and the study of slash: If I knew I could get a PhD by writing a dissertation on Slash, I would probably drop out of my physics papers! […] I don’t really think too highly of faking/manip-making. I mean, it’s not like it’s high art, is it? … or is it? I guess if Duchamp’s toilet can be a masterpiece, then so can anything. But I mainly just do it to pass the time, materialise fantasies, and disperse my fantasies unto others. Nothing too serious. Wandsinhand erects various binaries—academic/fan, important/trivial, science/arts, high art/low art, profession/hobby, reality/fantasy, serious/frivolous—as justification to devalue his own artistic practice. Yet embracing the amateur, personal nature of his practice frees him to “materialise fantasies” that would perhaps not be possible without self-imposed, underground production. This is certainly supported by his body of work, which plays with taboos of the unseen, of bodily fluids and sadomasochism. My intention with this article is not to contravene views such as wandsinhand’s. Rather, it is to promote slash manips as a form of remix culture that encourages new perspectives on how slash has been defined, its connection with male producers and its symbiotic relationship with gay pornography. I have examined the ‘semiotic significance of selection’ that creates meaning in two contrary slash manips; how these works actualise and resist canon dominance, as it relates to the physical and the symbolic. This examination also offers insight into this form’s connection to and negotiation with certain ideologies of gay pornography, such as the valorisation of size and muscle. 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