SYNDIKAT of HETEROLOGICAL SYSTEMS

Human[i]ties Perspective 2011

2011-11-27T12:42:00.001+01:00

by Alex Bunten, EM Euroculture alumnus

On the memorable date of 11.11.11, Human[i]ties Perspective 2011: Impacts of Communication and Global Mobility successfully kicked-off at the University of Hamburg, Germany.

This year’s event explored four themed sessions on ‘Cultures & Identities’, ‘Communication & Democracy’, ‘Crisis, Risk & Environmental Communication’ and one session focused on the job market. The majority of the 50 participants came from four targeted EM programs - MA Media, Communication & Cultural Studies, MA Journalism & Media within Globalization; MA Euroculture; and MA Crossways in European Humanities – however, the event also attracted students and professionals from wider spheres. Throughout the two days, leading professors, young academics and professionals from fields in communication, media, journalism, cultural studies engaged in stimulating discussion about their research entwined with their personal experiences and fieldwork.

Prof. Dr. Michel Clement opened up the event by presenting his recent research on “The Advertising Role of Professional Critics in the Book Industry”, followed by Dr. Kathrin Voss on ‘Communication and Democracy’ with junior speakers contributing to the theme of civic participation. Sara Nofri headed the ‘Cultures & Identities’ session by delving into the issue of cultural differences in the coverage of environmental issues in newspapers. Her talk was complimented by junior speakers who elaborated on the idea of multiculturalism in the UK, cultural clash, and identity.

The second day began with a series of “Career Talks” from professionals in the field, illustrating the various paths possible from a Humanities degree. Journalism, publishing, and social media were the most popular topics, but the talk about academia by Dr. Roberto Suarez, “Planning an Academic career: managing uncertainty”, touched on a important point for anyone working or studying in the Humanities: “What we are doing is very important, but nobody thinks so. We are underestimated by most of the population. We have to sell our work. We must defend our work.” The last themed session looked into “Crisis, Risk & Environmental Communication” and was led by Shameen Mahmud’s talk on “Crisis & Risk Communication: Paradigms and the Paradoxes of Convergence and Divergence.” Junior speakers followed with presentations on China’s role in the Copenhagen Summit, media coverage of three wars in the Middle East, and sustainable city development.

After a well-deserved coffee break, the conference came to a close with two panels. The first was a career panel of EMA alumni, exemplifying and discussing what career paths they have taken from their Humanities degree. And the second panel, “EMA Humanities Future Challenges,” tabled the idea that these events should provide the basis for an ‘EMA Humanities Professional Network’, to be developed in conjunction with annual Human[i]ties Perspectives.

Participants enjoyed social events between the talks, which continued into the night after two days of fruitful discussions. Immersing in the German culture and the beautiful scenery that the City of Hamburg brought to them, all were content in spite of the chilling weather.

With the words of Dr. Suarez in mind, Humanities Perspective 2011 successfully fought its corner for two days in Hamburg and because of this accomplishment, it already has plans for next year – Human[i]ties Perspective 2012 will be supported by the REALISE IT initiative and hosted by Roskilde University, Denmark.

Follow Human[i]ties Perspective at:

http://humanities2011.wordpress.com/

Or on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Humanities-Perspective-2011/211538938903723

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA Spain An informal guide by & for Erasmus Mundus students

2011-04-10T14:17:00.000+02:00

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

Spain

An informal guide by & for Erasmus Mundus students

Contributors: Chiara Dalla Libera

March/2011

YOU ARE AT SANTIAGO AIRPORT

Here you are. Life as an Erasmus Mundus student always starts in an airport: you have just landed and you are trying to understand what the new city is about by staring at the other people who were with you on the plane. In the case of Santiago you are most likely trying to figure out if the city is inhabited just by priests, nuns and old pilgrims.

Perfect, now that you have collected your 25 bags of 30 kg each you can find your way to the city center! Don’t panic, Santiago airport is a tiny, tiny airport, and it is located 10 km away from the city center.

Remember that Santiago has been training for years in receiving tourists, so you will not be alone!

By bus

Outside the airport building you will find the bus stop.

You can either go with the special buses organized by Ryanair that are usually a little more expensive (around EUR 3), but they are a good option if you are arriving late.

Empresa Freire (http://www.empresafreire.com/html/ingles/seccion0.php) is the local company, and it takes about 20/30 min to take you to the city center, and the ticket is around EUR 2,50.

Just pay attention to the stops:

-San Lazaro (outskirts of Santiago)

-Bus station

-Av. De Lugo (Train station)

-Dr. Teixeiro (City center, new part)

By Taxi

The ride is not really expensive (around EUR 19), and they stop right near the bus stop.

If you are going to the residence Burgo Das Nacions the best option, if you want to save money, is to go by bus to the bus station and then either walk or take a cab (around EUR 3).

The residence is 3 km away from the bus station.

Airports in the area:

Santiago de Compostela

http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite?SiteName=SCQ&c=Page&cid=1048690016783&pagename=subHome&Language=ES_ES

La Coruña

http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite?SMO=-1&c=Page&SiteName=LCG&Language=ES_ES&pagename=subHome&MO=0&cid=1048146841342

Vigo

http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite?SiteName=SCQ&c=Page&cid=1048690016783&pagename=subHome&Language=ES_ES

MOVING AROUND

Santiago it is a small city of approximately 93.000 inhabitants and everything is at a walking distance. The city is divided in five main areas and, especially if you are looking for a place to stay, it is important to know where everything is located.

Campus Norte

It is located on the right part of your map. The Philological Faculty (Faculdade de Filoloxia) and the residence Burgo das Nacions are located in this part of town. Next to the residence you can find the office Unidade de Xestion Academica (UXA) where you will need to submit the first documents once arrived. The area is quite poor with bars and supermarkets, but there are some behind the faculty. Behind the faculty there is also the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas (EOI). At the EOI you can attend language courses for just EUR 100 per year!

http://www.eoisantiago.org/

Campus Sur

The Campus Sur is on the left part of your map, and it is where almost all the faculties are located. Here you can find all the services that a university student may need and also the biggest library of the University.You most likely will not need to come here to do any paperwork, but if this is the case the main office is located at Pavillon Estudantil:

Campus Universitario Sur

15782 Santiago de Compostela

Phone: +34 981 528067 – 981563100 Ext. 14574 e 14575

Zona Nueva

It is the new part of Santiago, where the houses were built quite recently and where you can find all shops and facilities. It is not the prettiest part, but if you don’t want to starve or your jumper has a hole and you need a new one… You have to come here!!

If you are a true creature of the night you may become familiar with this part of town just starting from 4:00 am. In fact all the discos are located in the new part and every night, when bars in the old part close (4:00/4:30am), there is the migration of the lost souls of the night that just cannot accept to put an end to their party. Here discos close at 06:00/06:30 and then you can either continue at some after-party places or get something to eat.

Casco viejo

The magic and enchantment of this town is all here. As a tourist you can find all you need: any kind of merchandising of Galicia or Spain (shall I buy the statue of Santiago apostle or the T-shirt of the Barcelona Football club..mmm..), if you have a sweet-tooth you can try a piece of the Tarta de Santiago that will be offered to you every 2 meters and many more!

Despite the tourists, you’ll soon discover that this is where the social life actually takes place and you will lose the count of how many times you will say:

“Ok, let’s meet in Plaza Cervantes for a beer/ coffee / tea / cinema / a walk / shopping / tapas / dinner / fourth round of beer / una caña, por favor /no more beer please, orange juice please / licor cafe / un vinito...”.

San Pedro and Bonaval Park

This part of town between Porta do Camiño and Area Central (the biggest shopping center of Santiago...Beware, is also the saddest commercial center ever built...). This area is 5 min walking from the old part and is about 20/25 min from the campus North: it has the enchantment of the old part, but with more facilities.

I NEED A HOME

Get used to it: it will be your hobby between one book and the other!! Some additional subjects to the Erasmus Mundus Master are: Live like a Gypsy, Weight your suitcase with your eyes, Pack 25 kg of stuff in a 50x50 bag and many more!

Also in Santiago works the usual way of leaving adverts in the bacheche of the faculties, but best way to find a place to stay is the website of the university:

Taboleiro http://xornal.usc.es/xornal/taboleiro.html

During the week the website is daily updated (during the weekends you can forget about your research, no one cares that you are still homeless!) you can look up at the website before arriving to Santiago, but it’s not hard to find a place.

As previously explained each part of town has its features and your final choice depends on what you want from Santiago! A more detailed chart follows:

Where to live

I study, what else? I study! - Campus Norte

You are near the University and the library and you have the essential shops you may need. In case you decide to have some social life the center is just 15 min away.

Cold feet - New Part

If you can’t live in a flat without central heating you may want to look for a room in this area, as in the old part it is quite hard to find a flat that has one. You also like having all kinds of shops in front of your door. Old town is 5/10 min away, but Campus Norte is 35/45 min away!

Romantic - Old Part

You like sunsets and you cry when you see the first Christmas light in December or the first flower when the spring arrives. You think that the view from your room is more important than going to sleep with your tuta da sci.

You may find some problems in finding a supermarket and in going to sleep at 23h.

Campus North 15 min. New part 10 min.

Alternative - San Pedro

You like having a nice garden (Bonaval), you are lazy (you don’t need to walk more than 20 min to go anywhere), you are a bit like the type described previously.

Every time you go to the center you are walking the last part of the camino de Santiago… smart ass!!!!

Prices

Prices go from EUR 120/150 for a room in a shared flat in the old part and in San Pedro to a range of EUR 180/220 in the new part. These prices do not include bills. If you pay more than that you probably living in a 5 stars hotel!!

Burgos Das Nacions

Avda. Burgo das Nacions.

15782 Santiago de Compostela.

A Coruña (España)

Phone: 981 547 152

It may be good if you are not staying long and if you want to focus on your studies.

The rooms are quite nice and properly clean, you have your private bathroom and you share the kitchen with the people from your floor. Unfortunately Mundus students (even if you have a scholarship) get to pay around EUR 300 rent per month, which is quite expensive, considering the cost of a single room in a shared flat in town!

SPANISH TIME

It takes some time, but you will soon love it, I’m sure! Classes never start before 10:00 and finish at 19.30 the latest.Shops are open between 10 and 20:00 and close between 14:00 and 16:00/30. However, especially in the new part, some don’t close at lunch and are open until later (e.g. supermarkets).

A couple of remarkable details:

“I’ll meet you at midday!” means “I’ll meet you at 14:00” (Lunch time)

“Come to my place to have dinner!” means “Come to my place around 22:00, but that does not mean that it’ll be ready by that time…Anyway, bring a bottle of wine/beer”

In my experience people are not late: they schedule meetings late enough in order for them not to be late.

MIX WITH THE OTHER TOURISTS

Oficina de turismo de Santiago (Rua do Vilar 63) and Oficina de turismo de Galicia (Rua do Vilar 43) are the places where you can gather all the information you need and where you can collect a precious map and some cultural leaflets. I’ll skip the historical and artistic comments, as you would get a real guide for that, and you would not trust me (or Wikipedia, remember you are a Master student now!) Santiago is not that big, and I will let you discover the town by yourselves, but there is a place I would like to recommend: Igrexa do convento de San Martiño Pinario… Enjoy!

I ACTUALLY CAME HERE TO STUDY

You are sitting at a table outside in one little square with a couple of friends, a glass of Albariño, some jamon, queso de Arzua, a piece of tortilla and some croquetas and then, it suddenly hits you!

“I am sure I came to Santiago to do something…”

“But what??”

“Mmmm... I can’t remember... Was it because of the pilgrimage?!”

“No, I arrived by plane…”

“Why? Why did I come here??”

“Damn it!!Erasmus Mundus Master!!!!”

You may not understand this monologue if you have just arrived, but you will soon learn that Santiago’s social rhythm will take over your will to dedicate your life to studying. As I said before, all your classes and all the bureaucracy will be in the Faculdade de Filoloxia in the Campus Norte. Antonio Gil is the head director of the Erasmus Mundus in Santiago and you will mainly deal with him and with the professor that will be assigned to you to direct your dissertation. The fact that you will deal mainly with them is purely because as soon as you put your foot outside the Philological faculty no one has a clue of what Erasmus Mundus is. So, please get used to explain to each functionary of the University who you are and why you are there. It is a training of self-confidence: you will have to repeat it so many times that you will become very proud of what you are doing, and you will think that you are a misunderstood genius.

LIBRARIES

The libraries and the whole University system works quite well. You can do the card for the library directly at the Biblioteca de Filoloxia, and as a Master student you can bring home more books.

Biblioteca de Filoloxia and de Periodismo

If you need a lot of books you may find it more handy to spend your days in the Biblioteca de Filoloxia (our faculty!): the environment is not the cheerfullest you can find, but the choice of books is quite wide. On the other hand, if you are looking for a place with more light and more privacy, you can go to the Faculdade de Periodismo (Faculty of Journalism), which is the faculty next door designed by the famous Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza.

Biblioteca de Historia y Xeografia

If you want to fight for a place to sit, but you want to feel like Harry Potter…this is your spot! Bring your camera at least once!

Biblioteca del Campus Sur

(Rua de Jose Maria Suarez Nuñez) This is the biggest library in the Campus Sur, and during exams period it is open on Sundays and late at night.

Biblioteca Caja Madrid

(http://bibliotecas.obrasocialcajamadrid.es/biblio-adulto/662_97011.htm?centro=3271) It is a small library in the old city center and to have access to the library you just need to do a card with them (for free). The location is great (Rua Das Casas Reais 14), they have daily newspapers, DVDs and books of any kind that you can request from any of their libraries throughout the whole country.

GALICIANS PARTY HARD

Don’t be fooled by the fact that Santiago is such a popular tourist destination: all the bars you see are to satisfy the social appetite of the Compostelanos! If you consider the size of this town, you will be impressed by the number and the variety of choice of the places to go out. On my side, in order not to lose all the (little) respect that you, Erasmus Mundus reader, had in me, I decided to chose just three examples for each category and not to pull out further than this paragraph.

Coffee places

Camalea: Plaza San Martiño Pinario. Cosy coffee place: try the selections of teas with different liquors, really tasty!

Costa Velha: Rua Porta da Pena 17. Amazing view and romantic garden: please, find a boyfriend/girlfriend to come here.

Cafe Conga: Rua da Conga. When you order a coffee, you will get small brioches for tapas. Nice stop when you are studying.

Have a beer

Casa da Troia: Rua da Troia. Nice place to have a glass of wine and watch the people passing by.

Caballo Blanco: Praza Pescaderia Velha 5. Great tapas, big portions... croquetas!croquetas!croquetas! If you don't like garlic stay away from the chips!!!

Reixa: Rua Tras Salome 3. Rock'n'Roll, baby!!!

Eat out

Dezaseis: Rua de San Pedro 16. Pulpo a la gallega, Chochos en tinta, Empanada… It is better to go with a group and order one of the menus with different selections.

A Orella: Rua Raiña 21. Calamares fritos, orella de porco (if you can!), caldo gallego…

La Bodeguilla de San Roque: Rua de San Roque 13. A bit of everything from the Galician's cousin.

Discos

Ruta: Rua de Perez Constanti 66.

Indie-rock lovers here you will find your shelter for the nights out. If you arrive early enough (4.30/5 am) you will have a chance that DJ plays the song you requested him.

Avante: near Canton de San Bieito.

The same CD plays every night, but thanks to the “interesting” people who hang out at this place it is always a new experience. Get ready to sing along with the songs from the left parties of all Europe.

Anubis: no address. I mean, of course it has an address, but I don't remember how I got there. This is an after-party place and you will come here starting from 7:00am, I think this explains the place itself.

ENXEBRE COMPOSTELA (= MEET THE REAL COMPOSTELA)

In Galicia there are two official languages Spanish and Galician. You can write your papers and speak to almost everyone in Spanish, but with time you will find easier to understand Galician. Some professors at the University will choose to have their classes in Gallego: this will surely create several discussions and there is no way to avoid it. The understanding of Gallego is easier if you speak Portuguese, if you are Italian, or you are very fluent in Spanish.

Some of the specialities of this land are:

Empanada (a pastry filled with meat/tuna/seafood)

Pulpo a la gallega (octopus with paprika)

Caldo a la gallega (soup with potatos and turnip tops)

Drinks:

Licor Cafe

Crema de Orujo (like Bailey’s)

Licor de Hierbas

Queimada (a punch od liquor with coffee beans, lemon peel and sugar)

GALICIA, A LAND TO DISCOVER

Praia das Catedrais, Galiza

The best way to travel around is by car, as the main features of this corner of Spain are naturalistic and not very well connected.

Some suggestions:

Praia das Catedrais (Barreiros)

Canons do Sil (Ribeira Sacra, Ourense)

Islas Cies (Vigo)

Dunas de Corrubedo y Lagos de Carregal y Vixan (A Coruña)

Finisterre

If you can travel just by bus or train, then it is easier to visit the cities:

A Coruña

Ourense (go to the therms!)

Lugo

Pontevedra

Vigo

By bus: www.alsa.es

By train: www.renfe.com

SOCIAL EVENTS

All the updates on: http://www.compostelacultura.org/

Film festivals

Arab film Festival Amal: http://www.festivalamal.es/

Curtocircuito: http://www.curtocircuito.org/?lg=ing

Cineuropa: http://cineuropa.compostelacultura.org/

GOODBYE SANTIAGO!

“As cousas non valen polo tempo que duran, senon pelas pegadas que deixan”

Life as an Erasmus Mundus student may be hard sometimes, and you need to be strong to arrive to the end, but it is an amazing, once in a lifetime experience that will change you and that you need to enjoy until the last bit! However if you chose to spend at least one semester in this little town in the North-West of Spain, you will understand its magic, and you will fall in love as I did!

Good luck!

St Andrews - An informal guide by & for Erasmus Mundus students

2011-03-30T11:23:00.000+02:00

ST ANDREWS

Scotland

An informal guide by & for Erasmus Mundus students

Contributors: Ana Sofia Guerreiro, Nataliya Matamoros, Anuradha Choudry

February/2011

clockwise: a dog on Market Str.; the ruins of the Cathedral of St Andrew;

the beach next to the Old Course; pipers next to St Salvator’s Chapel (by Nataliya Matamoros)

ORIENTATION & GENERAL INFORMATION

St Andrews is, for the most part, very well organised so you will receive booklets before and during orientation week, which will give you the general guidelines to where, when and what.

WHEN YOU ARRIVE

If you look up the information on the university website, you will find out that, during orientation week, the student association can pick you up at the airport and take you directly to your residence. It is a bit more expensive, but we strongly recommend it. If you arrive just before or on the first day of orientation week, you will come across several parties, some of which will be in your residence. If you can, go and mingle. It’s the best way to meet people - some of which will be Mundus students as well. Some of the students will be 2nd year students who will gladly help you with any questions you might have.

GETTING AROUND

St-Andrews is a cute little town with three main streets in the centre that are parallel to each other. They are North St, Market St and South St. Most of the University buildings that we would be concerned with and the main library are in and around these streets.

Public transportation within St Andrews is futile, since it is so small. You are better off walking or riding a bike. Just in case: a week bus pass is 5 pounds (unless they have increased the fare!). The regular one way fare is 80 pence with the student's card.

For supermarkets further away from the town centre, there are some occasional buses, which can be useful. If you want to travel outside St Andrews, the bus and the train (at Leuchars) are equally good. Make sure to buy your train tickets in advance, since the price gets more expensive as the travelling dates approach.

COMMUNICATION

SIM Cards This is the first thing you should do! With an increasing number of international students, SIM cards tend to be sold out in the first couple of days so don’t delay this task.

Internet access Don't forget to take your own ethernet cables or you could pay up to 3 pounds for a new one!! The same goes for a multi-outlet adapter for the UK. The voltage is 220, but the plug type is different from European.

@ University: At the Buchanan Building there is a Postgraduate room and a Computer Lab where you can use the Internet for free, provided you already have the login and password information.

@ Libraries: Exactly the same but you might have to wait longer. Do not attempt to write or print your essays at the library. It will be extremely crowded during essay and exam times.

a view from the library (by Nataliya Matamoros)

@ Cafés: There are some coffee shops with Internet available but the prices are ridiculously expensive, mostly because students are usually covered by the university network.

books, photocopying, and printing Library! You can find most books at the library, even the most obscure ones and the university also has an inter-library loan system. Photocopying can also be done at the library. For printing, we recommend the Buchanan building - less crowded and usually better quality. If you notice any problem with the printers, complain at the library front desk and they will not only fix it, but also refund you for the money you might have spent on bad printing.

post office The post office is in South Street. It is not very big but the people are friendly. If you need to post official Mundus documents, you can ask the Modern Languages Secretariat (Buchanan Building) to do it or you.

WHERE TO LIVE

Student accommodation is a great idea! If you want something with more space, you can try to look for a flat but St Andrews is a small town so the number of flats available is extremely low. Within student accommodation, there is much to choose from, depending on what you like. Our advice is to check the university website for details.

Ana Sofia lived in Albany Park and loved it! The houses were warm, they were right next to the beach and when it snowed, it was beautiful. However, it is still a good 10-minute walk from the town centre.

the beach in front of Albany Park at low tide (by Nataliya Matamoros)

Nataliya lived in Deans Court, which is a rather expensive option, but it has more benefits than drawbacks. First, the unique medieval building with an unforgettable canteen in the cellar in the style of Harry Potter’s movies and windows facing the shore with the ancient St Andrews castle and its cemetery. Second, the rent includes meals and official dinners with Scottish cuisine. Third, it has a library, DVD collection and even a Wii video game console to have fun with friends. Fourth, room cleaning daily.

views from the builldings of Deans Court (by Nataliya Matamoros)

Anuradha lived in David Russell Apartments, but found them rather expensive with quite a distant location. However, it was undoubtedly very comfortable - a double bed, spacious room, excellent heating, own bathroom, internet connection, phone, TV. 5 people live in a flat where each one is allotted his/her own room and share a common kitchen.

Fife Park is one of the cheapest accommodation options offered by the University.

The University of St-Andrews is constantly buzzing with events which is almost completely absent in Bergamo except for the parties. So if you want to participate in these activities insist on an accommodation in town. Try to tell them that you are a foreign student, there only for 1 semester, and would like to make the most of your stay in St-Andrews.

WHERE TO EAT

This, we will leave to you. The trick is to try many different places, and there are plenty of them. The scones at North Point are a must (as many people think, since that spot was always full).

Definitely try the Scottish specialty called ‘haggis’ made of sheep’s heart, liver and lungs. As a snack, fish and chips will be perfect for any get-together with friends.

top: haggis; bottom: sticky-toffee cake (by Nataliya Matamoros)

WHAT TO DO

Culture St Andrews is full of cultural clubs, which will host many events in the beginning of the year. My advice is to try as many as you would like and then pick 2 or 3 clubs tops. You think you will have the time for more, but you won’t. If you arrive during the second semester, you can still join but you will need to catch up with the activities. Tip: it is great to build your CV!

It is a definite must to learn to dance ceilidh. There is a great chance to do it at Boy's Brigade Hall, which is on Greenside Place street. There local students teach everyone the basics of this dance and even practice for the annual ceilidh show which takes place at the Castle of St Andrews on the 1st Sunday of May.

St Andrews Castle (by Nataliya Matamoros)

To get some adrenalin don’t miss the student tradition of May Dip (on the first early morning of May), when you can join crowds of students jumping off the shore into the ice cold water.

Another extreme event takes place on one of the weekends of November. It is Raisin Weekend, for which you will need to be ‘adopted’ by one of the students from St Andrews university and become their ‘child’. On this weekend your academic ‘mothers’ dress you up in fancy costumes in which you proceed to St Salvator’s Quad for a portion of foam. The grand foam fight organized there will change your appearance beyond recognition and leave unforgettable memories!

the foam fight (by Sakshi Tandom)

In February or March participate in the night-time torchlight procession from St Salvator’s Quad to the end of the main pier in red academic gowns, if you are lucky to be there for the rector reception. It happens once every three years.

the pier during daytime (by Nataliya Matamoros)

You can always go the beach, when you have a free hour, and marvel at the tide, people doing blokarting on the beach. Just remember to always dress up warm as even in summer it tends to be windy and cold there.

the magic tide and beach sports (by Nataliya Matamoros)

Try the Befriender's Scheme, which is a programme organised by the Hope Church (at the corner near the Bus stand) that finds local befriender for foreign students - this means that local families 'befriend' some students and introduce them to Scottish culture during their stay in St-Andrews and often invite them home and make them acquainted with Scottish life style. Regarding this you could get in touch with Fiona of the Christian Association. This Association also organises excellent 1-pound lunches every Thursday and a sumptuous opening meal for anyone who is free to attend before classes begin.

For more insiders’ suggestions go to www .thesinner .net

Sports The university sports center is further away from other facilities, but still it is within walking distance. Unlike in other universities, here you will have to pay for all sport activities both per semester and per visit, but they are absolutely worth the investment.

Don’t forget to try golf! St Andrews has the best and oldest golf courses in Europe.

ACADEMIC MATTERS

top: St Salvator’s Quad; bottom: student procession (by Nataliya Matamoros)

St Andrews is one of the top UK universities, which was also chosen by Prince William as his academic alma mater. However, this does not mean it is perfect. In fact, you will face some major issues. There are still some problems to be solved, namely the lack of varied course options. This is something you can fight for or accept, as you prefer.

Grading is done by two professors and is usually tough, so your first couple of essays might be a reflexion of that. The most important thing to do is understand what is expected from an essay and what each lecturer wants, because they will all want different things. However, ask around about the different classes and lecturers, get as much information from other students as possible, and you should be fine. Also, keep in mind that if you come from a country where many sources are valuable, things will be different here. At this level, you will be expected to show original thought, which should then be properly backed-up.

SHOPPING

Food

This can be tricky, as St Andrews is a very expensive town. For daily groceries like bread and milk, I would go to Tesco in the very center of the town on Market Str. However, for weekly/monthly groceries, it is recommended to try Aldy or another supermarket in the northern part of the city.

Clothes

There are some shops, but most of them will be unbelievably expensive. It is better to take an afternoon and go to Dundee or Edinburgh.

However, for a unique memory of Scotland try the shop called “Ness” on Market Str. Here you can buy the cutest ever clothes, bags, accessories and toys made of Scottish tartan. Expensive, but absolutely worth the money!

For warm clothes - if you don't want to carry much (you'll need them believe us! ) there are several charities on Market and South Str and around - like Oxfam, British Heart Foundation etc that have very good second hand clothes, boots, gloves, caps and a variety of other interesting things (sometimes new ones as well!) for very reasonable prices. Moreover, Dundee is not very far and a trip to Primark (clothes store) can keep you all day choosing stuff for yourself.

the irresistible tartan Ness bunny (by Nataliya Matamoros)

HEALTH

Whether you are covered by European Health Insurance or the programme’s insurance, you can use the British NHS. There is a health centre located in the northern part of town, where you’ll be welcomed by the staff and assisted very politely. Don’t attempt to walk there - a bus or a taxi might be your best option as it is still quite the stretch. You will need to make an appointment but once you are there, it goes pretty fast.

by Nataliya Matamoros

Updated Changes to the Crossways Program

2011-02-23T14:33:00.002+01:00

Starting with the 2011 - 2013 academic year, Crossways in European Humanities will be henceforth known as Crossways in Cultural Narratives and I invite you to consult the new website (linked at left). These changes which have come about as part of the second edition of the program include changes regarding the student mobility track as well as changes to the list of participating universities. The new mobility track follows a ABBC patters (as opposed to the old ABAC pattern) and the updated list of participating universities includes Lisbon, Santiago de Compostela, Sheffield, St Andrews, Bergamo and Perpignan (which remains the co-ordinating centre). The recruitment campaign for the 2011- 2013 academic year has just begun and will be closing on the 20 April details of which can be accessed on the aforementioned newly redesigned website (http://www.munduscrossways.eu/).

SAVE COMPLIT @ U TORONTO!

2010-07-26T10:33:00.003+02:00

Herewith an important message from Antonio Viselli (below) regarding the impending closure of the Comparative Literature program at the University of Toronto. As the crisis deepens and the endowments and funding of many universities are threatened, many further departments in various universities internationally risk closure, one needs only look at the controversy surrounding Middlesex University as well as many other British universities for further examples. While a certain consolidation may be required due to these financial constraints, as academics (especially within the humanities) we should nevertheless stand together against the needless extinction of a department in an out of hand, unwarranted manner, a manner which threatens research and stifles academic license and creativity. The humanities are important and should not be considered administratively as a less than - an area in which budget cuts can be made without consequence, and this must be stressed in our solidarity ~ Brendon Wocke.

Dear colleagues, professors and friends,

The Centre for Comparative Literature founded by Northrop Frye at the University of Toronto is scheduled to be disestablished and the students and faculty of the centre are fighting hard to reverse this decision that was made unilaterally, without any consultation with other departments on behalf of the committee. They have decided to fuse six departments (over 20 languages) into one "School of Languages and Literatures," a decision that seems to move in the direction of possible language classes for business students and future diplomats. Not only is Comp Lit in danger, but the future of the Humanities as a whole as well. If you could kindly circulate this message and sign the petition (at the link below) and/or write (open) letters (that we can publicly post on our website) to President Naylor voicing your concern for disestablishing a centre that should be a discipline in its own right, we would greatly appreciate it. I thank you wholeheartedly in advance and welcome you to follow the debate and ongoing struggle on our website: www.savecomplit.ca

(The departments to fuse are Italian, German, , Slavics - over 10 languages -, Spanish and Portuguese, among others. Centres to be disestablished: Centre for Comparative Literature, Centre for Ethics (how ironic!), Centre for Diaspora Studies, Transnational Studies... unfortunately, the list goes on). French and English, holding a particular status in Canada, are not affected.

Cordialement, In solidarity,

Antonio Viselli

Herewith another letter that offers further background,

Hi all,

if you read the Globe and Mail yesterday morning (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/u-of-t-plans-to-shut-down-centre-for-comparative-literature/article1637740/) you'll have seen the front page news: the Faculty of Arts and Science, under advisement from the "Strategic Planning Committee" is planning to disestablish the Centre for Comparative Literature—founded by Northrop Frye in 1969—effective July 1, 2011. While this is supposedly in the "recommendation" stage, the Dean is treating it like a fait accompli, and is unwilling to discuss the proposal, and has already declared the Centre's survival to be unlikely (http://chronicle.com/article/U-of-Toronto-Plans-to-Shut-a/66278/).

We refuse, however, to simply accept his verdict that Comparative Literature is now past its best before date. In shutting down a world renowned centre for interdisciplinary research, the Dean is showing his lack of comprehension for a vital and vigourous discipline, as well as enacting the worrisome attitude of many large academic institutions towards the humanities. "What was revolutionary or radical in the 60s," he says, "has become embedded in the mainstream."

I am therefore asking you to sign the below petition to the President of the University, registering both our dismay at this plan, and urging him to reverse this recommendation. http://www.petitiononline.com/complit/petition.html

In addition, please visit www.savecomplit.ca, and write a letter registering your thoughts on this distressing move to the Dean and the President -- their contact information is available on the "Protest" tab. You can also join our Facebook group, follow us on Twitter -- and forward this message to others you know who might be dismayed by this short-sighted decision.

I thank you in advance for your support.

THE STUDENT BODY AT THE CENTRE FOR COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

Mundus in the News

2010-07-12T08:53:00.002+02:00

Here's a cool article about Erasmus Mundus programs that appeared in the UK newspaper The Independent - Thanks Roberta for the link

InterCampus

2010-07-05T10:40:00.001+02:00

EMA General Assembly Report - Steering Committee

2010-06-22T18:50:00.000+02:00

EMA President Chunyu Liang

EMA Vice President Ricardo Chavez

The EMA Steering Committee

EMA General Assembly Report - European Commission Statistics

2010-06-22T18:49:00.000+02:00

Mar Duque - Challenges on International Higher Education Policy

2010-06-22T18:48:00.000+02:00

EMA General Assembly Report - Regional Chapters

2010-06-22T18:47:00.002+02:00

Please note that not all regional chapters were able to present at the General Assembly as several of the chapters are newly created and thus unable to provide feedback on current activities etc.

EMA General Assembly Report - ICUnet Statistics

2010-06-22T18:42:00.004+02:00

More Info on the Latin American Cinema Seminar @ Bergamo

2010-05-10T09:43:00.002+02:00

Cinema Crossways: il mondo attraverso i film

Seminario di cinema e cultura latinaomericana

Mercoledì 12 maggio ore 15:00 – Aula 3, via Salvecchio

Giovedì 13 maggio ore 15:00 – Aula 1, via Salvecchio

Il Dipartimento di Scienze dei Linguaggi, della Comunicazione e degli Studi Culturali dell’Università di Bergamo organizza il seminario Cinema Crossways: il mondo attraverso i film in collaborazione con il festival CINELATINO.

Nuovi film dall’America Latina. Promosso dalla Cattedra di Letterature Ispano americane e da alcuni studenti del Master Erasmu Mundus Crossways in European Humanities, il seminario si propone come momento di riflessione sul cinema latinoamericano e sulla cultura dell’immagine.

Mercoledì 12 maggio alle ore 15 (Aula 3, via Salvecchio) aprirà il seminario Ferdinando Scianna, uno dei nomi più grandi della fotografia italiana, con un intervento dal titolo Ambigua obiettività dedicato al costante e dubbio oscillare tra istanza documentaria e finzione immaginaria dell’immagine. Per l’occasione sarà presentato l’ultimo libro del fotografo Etica e fotogiornalismo (Electa, 2010), a cui farà seguito la proiezione del film María llena eres de gracia (regia: Joshua Marston, Colombia, 2004) Il seminario proseguirà giovedì 13 alle ore 15 (Aula 1, via Salvecchio) con la proiezione dei film Citade de Deus (regia: Fernando Meirelles, Brasile, 2002) e XXY (regia: Lucia Puenzo, Argentina, 2007).

CINELATINO di BERGAMO 2010

2010-05-10T09:37:00.002+02:00

Professor Fabio Amaya together with Ricardo San Giovanni and Lucia Caminada Rossetti (Mundus Crossways students) have organised a seminar on Latin American Cinema. Details in Italian below.

Cinema Crossways: il mondo attraverso i film

Seminario di cinema e cultura latinoamericana

Mercoledì 12 maggio ore 15:00 – Aula 3, via SalvecchioGiovedì

13 maggio ore 15:00 – Aula 1, via Salvecchio

Proiezione e incontri dei film

María llena eres de gracia (Colombia)

Xxy (Argentina)

Cidade de Deus (Brasile)

Mercoledì 12

Ferdinando Scianna terrà un incontro dal titolo:

AMBIGUA OBIETTIVITÀ

sul costante e dubbio oscillare tra istanza documentaria e finzione immaginaria dell’immagine

Presentazione del libro di Ferdinando Scianna: Etica e fotogiornalismo (Electa, 2010)

Interverranno: Bruno Cartosio, Alessandra Marzola, Marco Marzano, Maria Grazia Meriggi, Valeria Genero,Erminio Corti, Paola Gandolfi, Benedetta Calandra, Barbara Barbisotti, Federica Arnoldi, Fabio R. Amaya,Stefano Rosso (Università di Bergamo); Anna Boccuti, (Università di Torino); Sara Mazzocchi (GAMeCinema,Bergamo); Manuel Tonolini (Fondazione Dalmine); Angelo Signorelli (Bergamo Film Meeting).Il seminario è realizzato in collaborazione con Fondazione Dalmine, GAMeCinema,Bergamo Film Meeting, Fundación PROA (Buenos Aires), per la presentazione della terza edizione del

Festival CINELATINO, nuovi film dall’America Latina, 16 - 19 giugno 2010, Auditorium diPiazza Libertà (Bergamo)

Il seminario è aperto a tutti gli interessati

I docenti promotori: Fabio R. Amaya – Benedetta Calandra – Erminio Corti – Paola Gandolfi

EMA Newsletter: SPRING edition

2010-05-10T09:35:00.001+02:00

Go here and update your address to receive the lovely EMA Magazine Spirng Edition, while you're there be sure to sign up for EMA (Erasmus Mundus Allumni) and keep in touch with all things Mundus.

Free movement of third country nationals with a long stay visa within the Schengen area

2010-04-23T19:54:00.001+02:00

The Council adopted a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the convention implementing the Schengen agreement and regulation (EC No 562/2006) as regards movement of persons with long-stay visas (7392/10). Long-stay visas, or so-called "D" visas, are visas issued to third country nationals for periods of stay longer than three months.

The new provisions concern mainly three aspects: free movement, maximum validity of long-stay visas, and security aspects.

Concerning free movement, third country nationals with a long-stay visa are put on the same footing as third country nationals holding valid residence permits: They will be able to move freely for up to three months in any six-month period within the territories of the other Schengen states. This is important for two reasons: First, for the general purpose of free travel within the Schengen area and second, for the specific purpose of transit through another Schengen state when returning from the country that issues the visa.

Under the previous rules, a third-country national holding a national long-stay visa for stays exceeding three months was allowed to stay only in the territory of the Schengen state which issued the visa and to transit through other member states only in order to reach the country which issued the visa. Such a person was not allowed to travel to the other Schengen states during his stay (for different legitimate purposes such as business, conferences, visits etc.) nor to transit through the other states when returning to their country of origin which, in some cases, posed problems. The new rules also stipulates that long-term visas shall have a period of validity of no more than one year. If a member state allows an alien to stay for more than one year, the long stay visa shall be replaced before the expiry of its period of validity by a residence permit.

In other words, Schengen states will in these cases be obliged to replace the long-stay visa with a residence permit.

As far as security aspects of the Schengen area are concerned, the new provisions oblige member states considering the issuance of a long-stay visa to a third-country national to consult the Schengen Information System (SIS) in the same way as they need to do when considering the issuance of a residence permit. In case the third-country national concerned is a person for whom an alert has been issued for the purpose of refusing entry, the member state shall first consult that member state which issued the alert and shall take account of its interests. In such cases the residence permit shall be issued only for substantive reasons, notably on humanitarian grounds or by reason of international commitments. Similarly, in case an alert for the purpose of refusing entry has been issued for a third-country national who already holds a long-stay visa issued by another State, the member state issuing the alert shall consult the other member state which issued the residence permit in order to determine whether there are sufficient reasons for withdrawing the long-stay visa. With these provisions, the free circulation of the holders of a long-stay visa will not constitute any additional security risk compared to the holders of Schengen residence permits and short-stay visas.

Bibliothèque Nationale de France

2010-04-17T12:39:00.002+02:00

One of the most interesting and useful resources that I have discovered of late is the BNF which, for those of you studying in French, can be an indispensable resource for your research. They have a vast collection which includes many obscure and difficult to find titles. Another feature of the libraries sheer size is the fact that many titles that are available usually at different libraries, are there gathered together, making a one trip research stop possible. You should go to the library well ahead of time, with your student card and ID and 7€ for a initial entry card which will allow you 3 days of access to the main collections and 3 further days of access to the 'open' collections. You can purchase a more long lasting subscription but if you're only in Paris to consult the library occasionally, this may be wasted. The central library, the site François Mitterrand, is located on line 14 at the metro station of the same name. After you have received your card you can book online and order as many as 5 books to be ready for collection when you arrive. While the building's architecture alone makes it worth a visit, it is nevertheless a treat to study in such a well organised, well stocked library.

Literatura gallega e “ismos” femeninos: la propuesta de Teresa Moure

2010-04-17T12:33:00.002+02:00

Lucia Caminada Rossetti wrote this intersting article for a conference last year, and in so far as we would like to promote the excellence of research within the Mundus Crossways Community, we've decided to put this paper online in the hopes that this will encourage further submissions.

CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL DE LITERATURA ESPAÑOLA CONTEMPORÁNEA “LA MUJER EN LA LITERATURA, LA SOCIEDAD Y LA HISTORIA: IDENTIDAD, CAMBIO SOCIAL Y PROGRESO EN LAS CULTURAS MEDITERRÁNEAS”

Instituciones: Università degli Studi di Bergamo (Italia), Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (España), Université de Perpignan Via-Domitia (Francia)

Literatura gallega e “ismos” femeninos: la propuesta de Teresa Moure

Mayo 2009

Resumen:

En el trabajo se estudiarán los nexos entre literatura y la interrelación con diversos movimientos asociados a feminismos. Para esto, se analizará “Las palabras de las hijas de Eva” (2005) obra de una de las escritoras más representativas de la literatura gallega: Teresa Moure. A partir de este estudio, es posible ver de qué manera se construyen figuras femeninas repensando las categorías de lenguaje, las relaciones de poder, como también temáticas feministas que apelan a la maternidad, el vínculo con la naturaleza, etc. Asimismo, existe un parangón entre sociedad y mujer pensando dichas nociones desde la literatura y su diálogo con cuestiones ligadas a la importancia de las manifestaciones del feminismo y el arte que se manifiesta en los discursos de la literatura española contemporánea. Se resaltará el punto referido a la literatura de T. Moure que está marcada por el eje de “minoría” que envuelve cuestiones no sólo de feminismo, sino además de los usos del lenguaje.

CUESTIONES PRELIMINARES:

Pensar en la construcción de la figura femenina en la literatura o las diversas tomas de posición de la mujer en la sociedad europea, nos lleva a re-plantear principalmente la cuestión de la “identidad”. Identidad resaltada entre comillas, tomándolo como punto de inflexión para poner en boga la connotación opaca y el sentido cotidiano que esta palabra adquiere en los estudios contemporáneos. Identidad concebida asimismo, en tanto posición desde la cual se enuncian múltiples identidades teniendo en cuenta tal aspecto como construcción ficcional. Rastrear las huellas que trazan sistemas identitarios femeninos, sería repetir y escoger un camino muy cómodo para reproducir esquemas de análisis literario ya fosilizados. Lo que proponemos con este trabajo es también una crítica a los estudios que conciernen a la subjetividad femenina productora de identidad y diferencias.

En lo que atañe a plantear la identidad vinculada a la “mujer”, en la literatura española contemporánea, nos topamos con una barrera o frontera para establecer el anclaje o lugar desde dónde se enuncia. Esto implicaría: la lengua usada para enunciar (y los respectivos usos del lenguaje en general) y las características socio-políticas del ambiente cultural en donde se insertan las obras.

Este pequeño esbozo, nos lleva a presentar la obra de Teresa Moure -escritora gallega-, que propone tanto en sus ensayos como en las novelas, la cuestión de la mujer en relación con otros aspectos que contribuyen a pensar rasgos identitarios. Esto es: la mujer vinculada con el lenguaje, el feminismo, la ecología, la sociedad, la maternidad, la política, entre otros abordajes. Resemantizando la noción de mujer y feminismo, la escritora pretende deslizar ideas y ejes para una lectura de la concepción de mujer en la literatura actual.

Cabe destacar que el hecho de formar parte de un corpus de narrativa gallega no es un dato menor. No pasa inadvertido, ya que dicha adjetivación nos posiciona ante referentes identitarios: la lengua y la cultura. La escritora -en gran parte de sus obras-reflexiona acerca de varias cuestiones que constituyen a la mujer gallega como parte de la gran esfera de mujeres. Sin embargo, esta “filtración” de características y rasgos que describen el funcionamiento de la cultura y la estructura socio-política gallega, va tejiendo una red de sentidos que pasan de lo experiencial a reflexiones más globales y abarcativas.

Dentro de la vasta gama en que se inscriben sus textos, nos detendremos particularmente en el análisis de los ensayos “A palabra das fillas de Eva” (Las palabras de las hijas de Eva). Este libro-publicado en el 2005-, conforma una serie de ensayos que poseen un lenguaje literario, y a la vez teoriza cuestiones ligadas al feminismo.

El libro se compone de tres apartados: al principio de cada uno, hay un intertexto incluido bajo la designación de “Cadernos de anotar a vida”. En cada sección -a modo de introducción-, se insertan fragmentos conformados por historias, anécdotas o experiencias narradas en forma de diario1. Los fragmentos funcionan como disparadores para tematizar cuestiones vinculadas con la mujer y para presentar o como anuncio de los temas que se desarrollan en cada apartado. De hecho, el libro se cierra con un relato de los “Cadernos de anotar a vida” que retoma el título de la obra.

Los tres grandes apartados o bloques temáticos en los que se divide el libro, pueden leerse como apuestas para dialogar o confrontar temáticas que apelan a interrogar y debatir tópicos en torno a la figura de la mujer. Por un lado, en As palabras das fillas de Eva se destaca la relevancia y valoración de la palabra; por otra parte, se desarrollan tópicos acerca del lenguaje femenino frente al masculino; por último, etiqueta el tercer bloque tratando de esgrimir una propuesta focalizada en el uso del lenguaje como herramienta para producir cambios incorporados con el progreso de las mujeres y sus representaciones en la sociedad.

MUJER Y LENGUAJE/ CUESTIONES MENORES

La propuesta más fuerte de la autora consiste en valorar la palabra de la mujer. Esto se debe principalmente a que la mujer -desde su punto de vista-, pertenece a un grupo minoritario. La ubicación dentro de una minoría, de un grupo menor, significa poner en tela de juicio la función y roles de autoridad de lo que se posiciona en estratos superiores ¿La minoría se define en posición relacional de quién/es? El lugar que elige Moure para enunciar –desde la minoría- ubica su literatura y ensayística en una línea “ísmica”, es decir, asume posiciones radicales respecto a movimientos socio-feministas anclados en la cultura específica gallega. En esta dirección, sería la sociedad la que construye a la mujer y el hombre a través del uso del lenguaje: “A palabra das mulleres debe atenderse porque compón unha testemuña obvia dunha cultura minorizada, desprestixiada, que non conta” (Moure, 2005ª:113).

El lenguaje es el principal vehículo para construir la realidad y constructo utópico para transformar el mundo (esta es la idea en torno a la cual giran los esbozos teóricos de la autora). Al nombrar se renueva el lenguaje, y de esta manera, la iterabilidad dota de sentido a la palabra. Ya que el lenguaje es una fuerte arma de poder, Moure considera en el proceso de diferenciación entre el hombre y la mujer afecta al lenguaje y éste a su vez hace posible la cultura: “A linguaxe vai fazer posible a cultura” (Moure, 2005a:54). De esta manera, la búsqueda de conocimiento se hace a través de la palabra y la naturaleza también crea la diferencia de género:

Todas las culturas reconocen y establecen una diferencia entre la sociedad humana y el mundo natural. La cultura trata de controlar y dominar la naturaleza para que se pliegue a sus designios. La cultura es, por tanto, superior al mundo natural y pretende delimitar o “socializar” la naturaleza, con objeto de regular y supervisar las relaciones entre la sociedad y las fuerzas y condiciones del medio ambiente (Moore, 1999: 28)

Resulta pertinente agregar que el lenguaje se concibe en la obra como dispositivo: como un conjunto de prácticas por medio de las cuales se establecen roles y posiciones en la sociedad. Dispositivo también, en tanto que a través del lenguaje ejercemos el poder de modificar la realidad y se regulan las intervenciones en el mundo cultural.

Otro aspecto importante reside en considerar el lenguaje como institucionalizado. Es decir: el lenguaje como regulador de lo decible o no. En este punto, Moure ejerce una fuerte crítica al funcionamiento convencional de las normas y la regulación de las mismas bajo un criterio patriarcal. Tanto en los casos jurídicos, como en el discurso periodístico, se enfatiza el aspecto machista regulador de las fronteras del decir. La escuela, dentro de la misma línea de pensamiento, albergaría otro espacio institucional para la propagación ideológica y mantenimiento del poder. Dentro de este proceso, la sociedad construye al hombre y a la mujer a través del uso del lenguaje.

EL TROPO DEL FANTASMA: SILENCIO Y NATURALEZA

Al reflexionar acerca de la conceptualización del tropo del fantasma, aparecen fundamentalmente tres aspectos ligados entre sí y vinculados con dicha temática: la liminalidad, la emergencia en momentos socio-históricos signados por la crisis y su relación con figuras femeninas. Por esta razón, pensamos no sólo el carácter liminal y marginal que éste implica, sino además cómo a lo largo de la historia de las artes, el tropo ha estado estrechamente ligado con las mujeres.

La figura femenina al asociarse con el silencio, con la falta de poder en el uso de la palabra, se vincula también con el tropo del fantasma. Fantasma pensando en la posición liminal que encarna esta imagen que juega entre presencia y ausencia, entre los márgenes. A esto se agrega el tabú que constituyen y han constituido los relatos de experiencias femeninas en diversas manifestaciones artísticas.

Pero el punto neurálgico de interconexión entre el topoi del fantasma y los ensayos de la autora, reside en la concepción del lenguaje. Las mujeres en diversas disciplinas se configuran como objetos de creación, mientras que la construcción de la mujer como sujeto queda anulada o evadida. El hincapié que hace Moure para sostener esta idea, se respalda sobre el argumento de que la voz de la mujer es desvalorizada. Dicha desvalorización conlleva consecuencias respecto a la solidificación que tienen los usos gramaticales de la lengua regulados y manipulados desde posiciones masculinas.

Con el uso del genérico, la mujer se torna invisible ya que no hay garantía de su existencia. Spender –inscripto en la misma línea de reflexión que Moure -, considera que el lenguaje al ser producido, manipulado y convencionalizado por hombres (al igual que el pensamiento y la realidad), se circunscribe en un grupo dominante. Esto se puede notar en el uso del genérico: “Se trata de un producto hecho por los hombres que sirve para construir y reforzar las divisiones entre le grupo dominante y el grupo enmudecido (…) El supuesto genérico hace a los hombres visibles y a las mujeres lingüísticamente invisibles” (Spender, 1985: 2).

La invisibilización lingüística ubica una vez más a la figura femenina y su voz dentro del tropo del fantasma. El enmudecer como condición de la voz confiscada de la mujer es el rasgo que sobresale en los usos lingüísticos asociados a lo femenino. En cuanto a la cuestión de la maternidad (planteada ya en el Fragmento I de los “Cadernos da anotar a vida”), resulta interesante destacar que en general la figura cultural de la mujer se asocia con la maternidad. De esta manera, las categorías de “madre” y “mujer” son construcciones culturales (Moore, 1999). Para Moure, la maternidad es una posición invisibilizada, esto significa: que ocupa un lugar marginal dentro de los posicionamientos de la mujer frente a la sociedad.

La mujer, al inscribir su propio cuerpo dentro de la sociedad a través de la literatura por ejemplo, aparece representada con rasgos de espectralidad. Tanto la voz confiscada como el cuerpo femenino, constituyen dimensiones íntimas que producen un efecto de extrañamiento. Una de los motivos de estas representaciones de la mujer, es el sometimiento de ésta al poder patriarcal que establece condiciones fantasmales como atributos de las mujeres.

¿ECOFEMINISMO(o lógica “eco”) vs CAPITALISMO?

La relación entre ecología (la lógica “eco”), la naturaleza y el feminismo2, son centrales a la hora de adentrarnos en programática de Moure. Existen, desde su visión, semejanzas entre ecología y feminismo, ya que guardan estrecha vinculación. No sólo por sus fundamentos éticos similares, sino además porque responden a la idea de la rebelación contra cualquier lógica de dominio.

Al conceptualizar la noción de ecofeminismo argumentamos que “Ecofeminism is a practical movement for social change (…) against the “maldevelopment” and environmental degradation caused by patriarchal societies, multinational corporations and global capitalism” (Gaard and Murphy,1998: 2)

En la definición de ecofeminismo, los autores plantean que en general existe una tendencia a equiparar la mujer con la naturaleza. Justamente, la teoría ecofeminista “...seeks to show the connections between all forms of domination, including the domination of nonhuman nature, and ecofeminist practice is necessarily antihierarchical” (Gaar&Murphy,1998: 4)

Ahora bien, en las obras de Moure, ésta se posiciona dentro de las líneas de ecología profunda y feminismo de la diferencia. El ecofeminismo, en tanto articulación de políticas de pensamiento afines, funciona como eje conglomerante para pensar la identidad de la mujer y sus posiciones y representaciones en la sociedad.

Uno de los puntos del feminismo se fundamenta en la incisión que implica trabajar sobre un feminismo de la diferencia fundamentado en la situación de opresión que viven las mujeres en el mundo3. Esto supone la crítica del uso monolítico del término mujer. La definición de mujer no es, por tanto, biológica, sino social. La mujer se define de acuerdo a la posición que ocupa en la sociedad, mientras que el poder patriarcal convierte en desventaja su función en tanto sujeto-mujer (Moure: 2008).

El feminismo, desde esta propuesta, se postula como un movimiento filosófico que funciona como la base sobra la cual se erigen los principios de la igualdad. Por esta razón, el feminismo que se propone se define como antirracista, anticapitalista, antiimperialista y se relaciona con la ecología. Ecología y feminismo están conectados en su similar cuestionamiento de modelos de poder.

Asimismo, la mujer se delimita como tal por la posesión de ciertos rasgos que la dotan de un estatus diferencial. El feminismo de la diferencia “…salienta a capacidade dos suxeitos individuais de se constituirán dun xeito camviante nas identidades, orientando as enerxias cara ao cambio de sistema” (Moure, 2008: 156)

La hipótesis formulada en O natural é político, hace hincapié en la idea de que las mujeres están instaladas en el mundo que no crearon. Esto es: el patriarcado creó el mundo para que las mujeres lo habiten. En esta línea de sentido, se interpreta que el mundo patriarcal no admite diferencias ni jerarquías, sino que busca la explotación de la mujer y la naturaleza. Por tanto, la destrucción de la biodiversidad y la marginación de la mujer serían procesos que van unidos (Mies, 1998: 13).

Entender la diversidad como principio de conocimiento de las mujeres, implica también instituirla como base de la política de las mujeres y como política ecológica. Por tanto, existe un fuerte vínculo entre género y diversidad, cuyos fundamentos parten de la idea de la construcción de la mujer como segundo sexo usualmente asociada a la incapacidad de incorporar la diferencia4.

De aquí también se enlaza el último fragmento del libro “A palabra das fillas de Eva”. Dicha obra se cierra con la reescritura de la creación del mundo: una diosa creó primero la palabra y después el mundo. Creó al hombre y la mujer con iguales atributos y condiciones y les regalo, como objeto divino y sagrado, el poder de la palabra. La palabra para Eva, significaba petición, requerimiento; para Adán producía irritación y optaba por el silencio. En el silencio sería pues, bajo las condiciones en que Eva concibe sus hijas. De ahí que Eva esté embarazada de todas las mujeres (que nacen en puja por la búsqueda de la valoración de la palabra).

CONSIDERACIONES FINALES

A lo largo de la exposición es posible destacar de qué manera en la obra de Teresa Moure no sólo se proponen representaciones nuevas e ideas que apuntan a construir identidades en torno a la figura de la mujer, sino que además crea una agenda de posibles puntos que podrían ser objeto de reflexión y/o confrontación.

De esta manera, el progreso de las mujeres se liga- a su juicio- a la utilización que se le da al lenguaje, es decir, a la liberación del lenguaje. La finalidad del libro se dirige a crear un discurso que se define como:

….metalingüístico, metaliterario, anticientífico, anticapitalista, antipatriarcal, antiuniformalizador (…) un discurso en favor dos valores da cultura feminina, do valor universal da palabra (nunca dunha palabra sagrada, basado no poder), Retomaremos, máis bem, un discurso que se deixe invadir pola tenrura (Moure, 2005ª:115).

Moure agrega a esta idea que existe una construcción social del género: el sexo está, de hecho, construida socialmente. Al hablar de género se trazan los destinos que depara la cultura en función de la identidad y además se relaciona al lenguaje en tanto categoría simbólica.

Para la autora, desde esta perspectiva, el discurso se concibe como un espacio sensual y afectivo y, dentro de éste, el lenguaje sería el elemento clave. Clave dado que el lenguaje constituye la materialidad que teje los discursos de poder entre sexos. De esta manera, Moure concibe el feminismo como movimiento liberador. Esta liberación del hombre y de la mujer se daría a través de la palabra, del lenguaje.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA:

Gaard, Greta & Murphy, Patrick (eds) “Introduction” (1998) Ecofeminist Literary Criticism: Theory, Interpretation, Pedagogy. Urbana & Chicago: U of Illinois P.

Mies, Mº y Shiva, V (1997) Ecofeminismo: teoría, crítica y perspectivas. Icara Antrazyt, Barcelona.

………………….. (1998) La praxis del ecofeminismo: biotecnología, consumo, reproducción. Icara Antrazyt, Barcelona.

Moore, Henrietta (1999). Capìtulo II. “Género y estatus: la situación de la mujer”. En: Antropología y feminismo. Ed. Cátedra, Mardrid

Moure, Teresa (2004): Las jornadas de las mujeres-árbol. Ed. Ronsel. Barcelona.

--------------------- (2005a): A palabra das fillas de Eva. Ed. Falaxia, Vigo.

------------------- (2005b): Herba Moura. Ed. Xerais Galicia, Vigo.

------------------ (2008) O natural é político. Ed. Xerais Galicia, Vigo

Spencer, Dale (1985). “Language and reality. Who made the world?” En: Man made language. Routledge & K.Paul, London. (“Lenguaje y realidad ¿Quién hace el mundo?” Traducción de Teresa Moure S/N).

1El primer fragmento narra la historia de un parto. En dicho relato, se presentan cuestiones vinculadas al embarazo, la maternidad, el aborto. En particular se realza la estrecha ligazón entre alumbramiento/naturaleza y los cambios corporales de la mujer se cuentan con metáforas y comparaciones de elementos de la naturaleza y cambios del cuerpo de la mujer asociados a procesos fisiológicos.

El segundo fragmento, relata la historia de dos niñas que juegan a la “Caixa dos sentimentos” en la infancia, y luego interroga la posición de la mujer confrontada con la fugacidad de las relaciones sexuales con los hombres y la idea de amor romántico.

El tercer fragmento, ironiza con la metáfora del videojuego, la posición efímera que ocupan en la contemporaneidad los cuentos infantiles. Particularmente, las historias de príncipes y princesas en el imaginario actual. La crítica se lanza aquí hacia la disyunción entre moraleja y la opción de “volver a jugar”.

Por último, el fragmento cuarto, se vincula con el título de la obra (que se desarrollará más adelante).

2Ecofeminismo es un término que fue usado por primera vez por Françoise d’ Eubonne, pero se difamó con las actividades en contra de la destrucción del medio ambiente. Se desarrolla a partir de propuestas varias de movimientos sociales, básicamente el pacifista, el feminista y el ecologista e intenta conectar la praxis con lo teórico. Es decir, se interrelaciona la lucha por la liberación de la mujer con la de la liberación del planeta. Veáse: Gaard, Greta & Murphy, Patrick (eds) (1998) Ecofeminist Literary Criticism: Theory, Interpretation, Pedagogy. Urbana & Chicago: U of Illinois P.; Mies, Mº y Shiva, V (1997) Ecofeminismo: teoría, crítica y perspectivas. Icara Antrazyt, Barcelona y La praxis del ecofeminismo: biotecnología, consumo, reproducción. Icara Antrazyt, Barcelona. (1998

3En la sociedad gallega, el feminismo se encuentra separado (o contrastado) entre aquellas feministas políticas que militan para un determinado partido, y las feministas desvinculadas de los partidos políticos.

4 Esto también se produciría como consecuencia del paradigma del progreso que conduce al desplazamiento de la diversidad en el mundo biológico.

Conference of Possible Interest

2010-02-25T11:20:00.000+01:00

CALL FOR PAPERS

Conference
Impure Cinema
Interdisciplinary and Intercultural Approaches to World Cinema
2-5 December 2010
Leeds Art Gallery
Conference convenor: Professor Lúcia Nagib, University of Leeds

Key Speakers:
Professor Dudley Andrew, Yale University
Professor Griselda Pollock, University of Leeds
Professor Jacques Rancière, Emeritus Professor University of Paris 8 (tbc)
Professor James Schamus, Focus Features/Columbia University (tbc)
Professor Robert Stam, New York University
Dr Jonathan Wood, Henry Moore Institute

This will be the first overarching conference organised by the Mixed Cinema Network, an international body devoted to the study of cinema as a fundamentally interdisciplinary and intercultural subject area.
The title of the network, as much as that of the conference, draws on André Bazin’s famous article, ‘Pour un cinéma impur: défense de l’adaptation’. This article has been translated into English simply as ‘In Defense of Mixed Cinema’, probably to avoid any uncomfortable sexual or racial resonances the word ‘impure’ might have. This conference goes back to Bazin’s original title precisely for its defence of impurity, which refers, on the one hand, to cinema’s interbreeding with other arts and, on the other, to its ability to convey and promote cultural diversity.
Cinema has been widely acknowledged as a meeting point of all other arts. Joseph L. Anderson, for example, commenting on the ‘commingling media’ which participated in the genesis of Japanese cinema, reminds us of an old Buddhist saying, according to which ‘all arts are one in essence’. In the same vein, Bazin even prophesied that the critic of the year 2050 would find ‘not a novel out of which a play and a film had been “made,” but rather a single work reflected through three art forms, an artistic pyramid with three sides, all equal in the eyes of the critic’. Bazin’s statement responds to a tendency, prevalent in the 1950s among French new wave critics and future filmmakers, of locating and privileging cinema’s specificity as a medium, through which they hoped to safeguard the director’s status as an auteur. Truffaut, for example, provocatively contended that a literary adaptation was valid ‘only when written by a man of the cinema’. A first question thus derives from this conundrum: would an auteur cinema automatically oppose an ‘impure’ or mixed cinema, that is, one which openly relates to or draws on other arts?
It has also been argued that accepting cinema’s impure nature would automatically reduce it to a ‘weaker’ medium, that is, to a mere ‘stage’ in the development of more stable art forms. On this basis, evolutionist approaches have regularly decreed cinema’s death, first in the early 1980s with the emergence of the videotape, then in the 1990s with the advent of digital recording and editing technologies, and more recently with the spread of the internet as a distribution platform. Would this not be yet another kind of purism, one which glorifies technology above art? Bazin is certainly an example of someone who saw all arts in relation to each other in an evolutionary chain. However, he avoided the purist approach by placing technology at the service of realism. Thus, for example, photography and film, rather than superseding painting, would have simply ‘liberated’ it from its mimetic obsession.
Since poststructuralism, ideas of purity, essence and origin have come under suspicion in film studies, leading, in our day, to favourable approaches to ‘hybridisation’, ‘transnationalism’, ‘multiculturalism’ and cross-fertilisations of all sorts. One could however ask whether cinema’s multidisciplinarity automatically entails cultural hybridity. Stam offers an affirmative answer to this question, by ascribing a ‘multicultural nature’ to artistic intertextuality. More importantly, he defends intertextual approaches to cinema as a means to ‘desegregate’ and ‘transnationalise’ criticism itself. This conference will combine cinema’s interdisciplinary and intercultural aspects as a means to contribute to the deprovincialisation of criticism and bridge the divide between aesthetic and cultural studies. It will necessarily contemplate intermedia translations, including literary and theatrical adaptations, as well as cross-media citations. But it will reach beyond this, by locating and analysing the ways in which multiple media share strategic narrative and aesthetic devices which can only be properly understood if their cultural determinants are taken into account.
The conference will be open to a variety of approaches. Film has been seen as directly derived from painting (Aumont), a perspective which defines the film pioneer Lumière as ‘the last impressionist painter’. As such, the celluloid’s flat surface could be understood as a kind of canvas, whose illusory tri-dimensionality is comparable to painting’s ‘trompe l’oeil’ (Botnitzer). Filmmakers and critics, starting with Bazin and Kracauer, have unearthed from the film medium an indexical element derived from its photographic support, through which cinema becomes ‘truth 24 times a second’ (Godard) – or ‘death 24 times a second’, in Mulvey’s suggestive formulation, referring to cinema’s inherent photographic stillness. However, cinema’s indexical properties cease to offer a safe theoretical base when the celluloid gives way to the digital (Rodowick), suggesting further interdisciplinary approaches to virtual media which challenge the relation between humans and their environment (Manovich).
Moving from the sphere of the visual to that of the aural, cinema finds in music its most kindred spirit, with which it shares the element of time. This so much fascinated a filmmaker such as Eisenstein that he developed his famous theory of vertical montage on the basis of musical scores. Another world opens up when we turn to performance. Japanese cinema could not be imagined without the dancing geishas, the first moving subject to be filmed in the country, and even less without the kabuki theatre, in whose houses it developed. Dance and theatre, together with music and singing, also lie at the core of Indian, Chinese and many other world cinema traditions.
Finally, film and philosophy, a growing subject in film studies, will also be central to the focus of the conference, not least because one of the most influential philosophers of our time, Gilles Deleuze, devoted two volumes to the cinema, which have changed the ways in which film theory is conceived today.

Abstracts are invited on the following sub-themes:

• Film and cross-media intertextuality

• Intercultural aesthetics and narratives in the cinema

• Authorship and hybrid cinema

• Screen adaptations: theory and practice

• Music for film, film to music

• Film and new technologies

• Film and photography

• Film and visual arts

• Film and performance arts

• Film and philosophy

Please send abstracts of between 200-300 words, together with biographic details of 200 words max., to Jenni Rauch,J.S.Rauch@leeds.ac.ukmailto:J.S.Rauch@leeds.ac.uk>, by 24 May 2010. Selected papers will be announced by 28 June 2010

EMANATE: Call for articles and photos

2010-02-04T20:58:00.002+01:00

The next issue of EMA magazine - Emanate, will be published in spring 2010. Submit your articles and photos until March 1st, 2010, and use your chance to share your thoughts with the EMA members in the new issue!

The theme for the fourth issue of Emanate is "Dancing through the world".

The dance is interior and exterior, a psychological and physical motion and its expression can shift, transfer and send messages in a very powerful way. We have chosen to give dancing turn to this topic because the dance is also an aesthetic metaphor of how we gain and give knowledge of life in the world existing around us that challenges us to think and reflect not anymore in globalized terms but to understand each other personally, to discover cultures world wide, to gain information about science, medicine, art, informatics, technology, nature, crisis, viruses, environment, energy and geopolitics individually and with greater commitment and curiosity in order to make this world a better place for living and creating. The theme focus is from a bigger planet to a small world because through dialogue and the processes of globalization the world is indeed becoming smaller. Due to this shrinking world, it is actually expanding for many of us: we can get out of our small community we live in and explore the otherness worldwide. On the other hand, while some parts of the world are getting closer, there are others which are completely falling off the map and do not by far experience the kind of development enjoyed by the developed world. Besides, with this topic we want to enlarge the scale, the panoramic and the perspective of free photographic and textual interpretations of various disciplines where we are "dancing" celebrating differences.

Guidelines and requirements

Please submit your article to articles (AT) em-a.eu

Attached word file with title: Title/Full Name;
Include within the text your name, surname, EMMC, year of graduation and nationality;
The length of the article should not exceed 1000 words and should not be smaller then 500 words;
Have in-text citations and references - the format of the magazine does not allow for bibliographies or footnotes, except in special cases;
Be creative, free, original, communicative and ambitious!

Emanate is not an academic journal and while contributions from your field of study are welcome, articles should also be accessible for non-expert readers.

Apart from the thematic section, you can also submit articles for the following sections: EMA news (informing or reporting about an EMA or EM related event), blogosphere (by sending the blog of your EMMC), Your Say and Success Stories (by informing us about a special success of EM Alumni or a Student).

You are also encouraged to submit photos to illustrate your article, but please make sure that you own the rights of the pictures and that the quality corresponds to at least 2 Mb size of the photo.

Photos used for illustrations do not automatically take part in the photo competition.

Photo Competition

We strongly encourage you to send your photos reflecting your understanding of the theme "Dancing through the world" and to participate in the photo competition and run for a special prize. The selected photographs will be also part of an exhibition during the General Assembly in Madrid 2010.

The photo should

have a resolution of 4 megapixels and higher - if there are problems with sending such a large file by email, you are welcome to submit a smaller preview. However, your photo must be available in high quality;
be taken by the person who is submitting it;
be accompanied by your full name, nationality, master course, and 2 or 3 lines of capture and explanation how your photograph reflects the theme;
not be one of several - only one photo per participant is allowed for submission.

Please note that you should hold all rights related to the photo - which is usually the case when you are the photographer. However, publication of photos of other persons, or small groups, requires the consent of those portrayed. It is your responsibility that your picture does not bear any legal infringements - please make sure of that when you submit your photograph.

The winner, chosen by EMA community, will be awarded with a nice prize.

Now, the Magazine Team invites you to dance around the world!

Submission Deadline

All work should be submitted by email before March 1st 2010. Please send your contributions to articles (AT) em-a.eu

The Magazine Team

Call for Applications: Erasmus Mundus Course Representatives

2010-01-25T22:35:00.001+01:00

Community Home > Call for Applications: Erasmus Mundus Course Representatives

Call for Applications: Erasmus Mundus Course Representatives

Dear EMA member,

Would you like to:

- become active with the Erasmus Mundus Association?

- represent your course at the General Assembly of the Erasmus Mundus Association in Madrid?

- meet people from all over the world studying on different Erasmus Mundus courses?

- be a voice of your course and improve Erasmus Mundus by giving feedback to the stakeholders?

- promote Erasmus Mundus as a European higher education programme of excellence?

If your answer is yes, then apply to become an Erasmus Mundus Course Representative 2010-2011!

Find out more here

Looking forward to your applications!

Thanks and best regards,

Erasmus Mundus Association

Call of articles and photographs for EMANATE edition spring 2010

2010-01-13T11:44:00.001+01:00

The EM magazine team have asked me to inform you of the new call for articles and photographs for the new edition of Emanate.

The new calls for articles and photos is now published on the EMA community web site. You can find out more about the theme, the requirements, the guidelines and the deadline clicking this link.

http://www.facebook.com/l/d6357;www.em-a.eu/home/news/article/emanate-call-for-articles-and-photos.html?tx_ttnews
Looking forward to receive your valuable contributions,

The Magazine Team

Even More Electronic Resources

2009-12-07T14:44:00.002+01:00

Here are some more useful electronic resources that are very helpful for academic work that have not yet been mentioned, some of them are only accessible to students in specific universities and should you know of any other (similar) resources feel free to add them in the comments.

Google Reader - Google mail is reasonably widely used and one of the most useful things about google mail, i find, is the ability to use google reader at the sama time. Google reader is essentially a way for you to easily keep track of new posts on websites (such as this one) and allows you to organise reading lists to streamline what you read. It updates in real time and has a lot of really cool features - including the suggestion of new sites based on the ones that you have already selected. I use it mostly to keep track of things posted on Infos Fabula, itself a very useful french language academic site, this website, news, and events feeds such as special deals on train fare, museum exhibitions etc. Its definitely easier than visiting a whole lot of different sites, or having to subscribe via email and suffering a constant stream of emails that you are not always prepared to read as they arrive.

Infos Fabula - mentioned above, Infos Fabula is a french language site that details job posting, calls for papers, scholarship advertisements, and new book publications. I personally have found it invaluable in terms of keeping on the cutting edge of academic trends and in keeping well informed about possible scholarships and academic posts available in french studies internationally.

VPN Client for St Andrews Students - all students who attend St Andrews should, before they leave, head on down to the library and have the VPN client installed and explained to them at the IT helpdesk. It'll allow you to access all the online journals that are available to St Andrews students from whereever you are in the world. This is especially useful if you are writing in English and are spending your last semester in a university that does not have such a well developed english library and find yourself suddenly in need of a few extra papers of citations. For those of you who have or are not going to St Andrews - make a friend, and hijack their VPN client for a few minutes, JSTOR, project MUSE and a whole lot of other resources are available online through the VPN client - its really worthwhile.

Refworks or EndNOTE - Refworks & Endnote are bibliographic database software programs that help you refernce more efficiently and both interface with Word to enable references, which are perfectly formatted to pop into your document at the touch of a button. I personally prefer Endnote but I believe that St Andrews allows students to download a version of RefWorks which operates in a similar fashion. You build a database of all the works you are using and then when you want to reference the work in Word, you hop into Endnote (or RefWorks), select the work to be cited and in it goes - perfectly formatted, saving you having to type out the reference again and again. MHRA referencing - which Mundus students are required to use - does take a little bit of tweaking but once you've got it set, its easy as pie. Also useful because you can easily change the citation style of the document should you want to submit it to a journal which requires a referencing style different to the one that you have selected.

Antidote RX Grammar Check - Microsoft Word's grammar check is notoriously bad in English and even worse in French, so one of the key elements of software that i use on a daily basis is the Antidote grammar check by Druide, well worth the money it integrates perfectly with Word and spots most mistakes, as well as offering advice on ambiguity. It serves equally well as an excellent dictionary.

InterZones Update - NB!

2009-11-23T15:22:00.003+01:00

As a result of some uncertainty on the part of the European Commission, it may be possible for Mundus students to be considered under both Category A and Category B for the Interzones Scholarship. If you are interested in applying for the Interzones Doctoral Scholarship and wish to apply under both categories, I urge you to contect Prof Didier Girard with utmost urgency to express your desire for consideration. Please be reminded that the deadline for Category A applications is 10 December 2009. This applies equally to current and past doctoral students.

Interzones Applications Open

2009-11-11T21:35:00.002+01:00

Applications for the Interzones Doctoral program, so highly anticipated, have opened. There are 4 places, under category B applications, open to candidates who have held Mundus Masters grants. These applications close at the end of February. The closing date for category A applications (European or non-European graduates who have not been residents nor have lived in Europe for study or work for more than 12 consecutive months duringthe 5 years prior to the application deadline) is listed as the 10th December. All the relevant information is available on the Interzones website.

Articles from students: Discontinuity in Qiu Anxiong’s work

2009-11-11T21:29:00.003+01:00

Xu Sheng, one of the previous Mundus Master students was recently so kind as to send an article for publication on the blog, detailing the concept of 'the gap' in the work of Qiu Anxiong (the fascination with 'the gap' that is one of the hallmarks of the classes previously taught by Prof Girard will no doubt be familiar to many who have taken his course on 'applied heterology').

About discontinuity in Qiu Anxiong’s work

At the end of an article by Yuko Hasegawa on Qiu Anxiong’s video work, she mentioned “expressive artist” [1]. In “Utopia”, the solo exhibition of Qiu in Arken Art Museum, the artist has been classified into “magic realism” [2]. Although it’s true that the fantastic images in “The New Book of Mountains and Seas” accord with the sign of Magic realism, the meaning of this kind of classification has been limited within the words. From the beginning of modern art, the trends and styles of art has been defined through their appearance instead of their essence. Expressionism, cubism and their succeeders share a same pursue, that is to “transmit directly the spirit of artist” by the “discontinuity in logic” [3].

The discontinuity (or gap) has countless forms and exists in every successful modern art work. Before the discussion on its foundation, we can firstly find some “gap” in Qiu Anxiong’s work.

In “Jiang Nan Poem”, the most significant gap comes from the audience’s expectation of narration, as the only narration of the work is the passage of time. It’s exactly this gap that generates the aesthetic observation on the work. “The New Book of Mountains and Seas” has a firm background for interpretation, but the delicate polarization (gap) in the narration shows the inner confrontation of the work and of the artist himself. For example, in the representative scene, where the “men” in black get out from the earth and fly, logically, the “men” is no longer a creature described by the fictitious narrator of ancient time, but a symbolic sign put into the scene by the artist himself. In “Minguo Landscape”, the narration has been weakened again and gaps between scenes are common. Each scene has then adopted their own artistic conception.

Qiu said that his resource of art creation is his experience. The signs from “In the Sky” look like a direct representation of the artist’s inner experience， while interpretation from audiences can only depend on their own experience. The discontinuity comes then from the gap between different backgrounds of the author and the audience. In front of this gap, audience turns automatically to the “common sense” to get a “reasonable” interpretation – for example the “self destructive civilization” – so that the gap can be filled up. The aesthetics of a work are usually destroyed by this kind of “common sense” – “In the Sky” can be only a musing of the artist.

Welch wrote a letter on the day the war was broken. And the whole letter described a doll shop. The letter looks quite special as it gives a signal against the war and expresses the nostalgia for happy time, but the fact is that Mr. Welch didn’t know the war had been broken at all. If we read articles by Qiu Anxiong himself, we can see that his ideas have something in common with the “magic realism”, but being exhausted in finding any clew to rebuild the connection is not an aesthetic action. It’s better to go back to the work itself.

Being a philosophical exploration of the aesthetic methodology, “discontinuity” comes from “Matière et Mémoire” (by Henri Bergson), a work that explores the relation between man and the world around. Perception, in short, is by dividing the continuity of material and is only for part of it (man can’t perceive the whole world in a time). This divided perception selects related memory; and the memory brings related action as feedback to the perception. The process, where the discontinuous perception of the world engages the memory of a man, is where the affection is generated. In an aesthetic point of view, the process where audience discovers the discontinuity of an artist’s work and gives inner feedback, is where the transmission happens.

The western analytical methodology can actually be applied to the eastern art. The discontinuity by Bergson finds its earliest illustration on the blank of Chinese traditional painting. In Qiu Anxiong’s work, the “blank” has been treated in a new way and brings new discontinuity to the moving paintings.

In Qiu’ earliest video work “Jiang Nan Poem”, the real perspective has been compressed into an imaginary space of Chinese Painting. Later, by movements, “In the Sky” tries to put space into the blank of the flat paper. Spaces created by movements become common in “New Book of Mountains and Seas” and “Minguo Landscape”. A typical creation of space is the following: in “Minguo Landscape”, we don’t “see” the lake until a small boat passes by. Blank in Chinese painting is regarded as “imaginary truth”. Qiu turns the blank into a logical space by movements. This game with perception is only the first step.

In Qiu’s work, the expression of space and movement of every scene is based on one painting. He never represents a same space in different perspectives. On one hand , it’s limited by the technique; on the other hand, the still “camera” and single point of view denies the existence of “outre-champ”. His work is rather a theatre than a movie, as the stage can’t move, only the actors and sets can. The representation of the world is through switches of different scenes. Traditional Chinese paintings inspire imagination for time and space. In Qiu’s work, time and space has been represented, and imagination comes from the transition of scenes itself…

What’s important is not to find out all the discontinuity, but to perceive the transmission it generates. Yuko Hasegawa compares the last scene of “The New Book of Mountains and Seas” to the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich. It gives us a hint that Qiu’s work is rather a stage of spirit than expression.

[1] From the article of Yuko Hasegawa: “Witness of an enchanted land – Qiu AnXiong”

[2] http://www.arken.dk/composite-1210.htm

[3] A translation from the Chinese version. Sarah Connor, Art, A Histroy of Changing Style, translated by Ouyang Ying & Fan Xiaomin, 1992, p.209

[4] Refer to the discussion between the author and Qiu Anxiong.

[5] http://www.qiuanxiong.com

[6] This opinion is only applicable for Qiu’s published work until now.

Crossways gets to 'News and Events'

2009-10-26T11:47:00.002+01:00

The University of St Andrews has published the information concerning our General Meeting in Lisbon, in the 'News and Events' section of the website!

www.st-andrews.ac.uk/modlangs/news.

Check it out!

More electronic

2009-10-19T17:33:00.002+02:00

Poonam Ganglani recently attended a Research Methodology workshop and sent some interesting research links featured below. While these may interest students that are doing their theses in French or dealing with french texts, they may nevertheless be of use to other students. All of the sites, except the last, have English and Spanish interfaces and are reasonably user friendly. They are specifically related to theses and so may be most useful in checking whether a given topic has already been treated, and in which was it was dealt with.

1. FICHIER CENTRAL DE THESES:

http://fct.u-paris10.fr/FCT-APP/index.jsp

2. GALLICA

http://gallica.bnf.fr/

3. AGENCE BIBLIOGRAPHIQUE DE L'ENSEIGNEMENT SUPERIEUR

http://www.abes.fr/abes/index.html

4. ATELIER NATIONAL DE REPRODUCTION DES THESES

http://www.anrtheses.com.fr/

Café Philo Lisbon

2009-10-19T17:16:00.002+02:00

Lorena Tiberi has just informed me of a wonderful initiative that the Crossways group in Lisbon is putting together - its essentially a Café Philo, a reading group and discussion group that is interested in taking, as a point of departure, extracts from a willing Crossways student's dissertation report or dissertation itself. The student would essentially offer their text, high-lighting perhaps the most important sections and then this text would form the basis of a round table discussion among the Crossways team and other interested students and academics in Lisbon. Needless to say this is a very interesting opportunity to gain both greater expousure and to also be able to respond to critisisms levelled at the work so as to improve it ahead of submission or publication.

The students who offer their work are not excluded from participation, and while physically going to lisbon may be a little far, Lorenza has suggested the use of Skype as a medium that would allow the student in question to take part no matter where they are within the Crossways consortium. Furthermore this initiative has implications for both the virtual symposium and the initiative by Roberta, to present more student research online. One could imagine that a podcast or video cast of the proceedings be linked online, or the participation of any number of students via a skype group call, these suggestions are not without technical difficulties, but are not insurmountable. Any thoughts, suggestions or volunteers would be most welcome in the comments suggestion below.

Electronic Academic Resources

2009-10-13T13:04:00.003+02:00

Sorting out references and finding books can sometimes be a little challenging, especially given the fact that we move every semester. Carry your own portable library across the continent is both a recipe for disaster and can be a complete nightmare as books, while useful and necessary are also extremely heavy. E-books offer a fairly good solution to the problem, and while not all books are available online, you could at least reduce the amount of books and photocopies that you need to carry by using some of the online resources detailed below.

Google Books (http://books.google.com/books) is one of the best resources online, comprising a vast library of scanned searchable titles, Google books can help you track down that elusive citation or see whether a book you need is worthwhile ordering. Its especially useful when you only need to consult one or two pages or a single section – as the whole book is not always available.

JSTOR (http://www.jstor.org) is one of the best electronic journal archives out there, both Sheffield and St Andrews have access to this excellent resource. In addition St Andrews has off campus access so once you’ve been to St Andrews you can access the journal from anywhere. There are similar electronic journal archives for each of the major languages and the librarians at your current university will be able to help you gain access. Journal archives enable you to rapidly find papers on topics that you need, and generally provide these papers as PDF downloads, which you can store on your computer, search and even print should you need a hardcopy.

Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com) is the academic search engine related to Google’s highly successful online search engine. Google scholar searches academic books, journals and conferences to deliver academically orientated results. This is a more general search than one that could be conducted in JSTOR and the only weak point is that the results are not always accessible, ie the search engine returns results for journal archives that require specific subscriptions that your university may or may not have. However it is a good way in which one may find out whether a vital paper exists on the required subject, which can then be ordered or accessed by other means.

Finally, probably the greatest benefit of electronic resources, over and above the fact that they weigh virtually nothing, is that they are fully searchable, which saves a lot of time skim reading and allows one to quickly establish the interest of a book or article when one is unsure of its validity.

Research Abstracts

2009-09-10T22:58:00.003+02:00

As part of the effort to increase both the participation and the academic content of the Crossways blog, Roberta Gregoli suggested that we invite past and present members of the program to submit abstracts for the research that they are currently engaged in, be it for their Crossways Masters, or for further studies, or for conference or journal submission. Hopefully we can build up a data base of the research that has been performed and which is ongoing, enabling the demonstration of the academic quality of this program to potential employers, applicants and other stake holders.

Herewith the first abstract from Roberta Gregoli

TRANSNATIONAL RECEPTION OF CITY OF GOD AND ELITE SQUAD

GENDER, SPECTATORSHIP AND IDENTITY

Roberta Gregoli

Brazilian cinema has historically had a pivotal role in raising social issues. Recently, it has been the recipient of considerable attention worldwide, and a catalyst for the debate of urban problems such as social inequality, drug trafficking, and violence in the favelas (slums). Although the favela is not a new topos in Brazilian cinema, City of God (Cidade de Deus, 2002) and Elite Squad (Tropa de Elite, 2007) have been particularly successful in reviving its representation while problematising it in the public forum. Such vivid debate seems to reflect, and only be enabled by, spectators’ deep engagement with national film. Notwithstanding, despite the popularity of Brazilian cinema among the public, critics, and the media, the relationship between cinema and audience and its ability to reflect, as well as affect, social issues seem not to have been explored, there being a scarcity of research on film reception, particularly empirical, in Brazil. It is thus the aim of this study to investigate theories of reception and spectatorship through the analysis of audience reaction to City of God and Elite Squad. Due to current interest in transnational studies and the relevance of analysis involving empirical data, the two films are investigated through the examination of 238 responses collected from three groups: non-Brazilian, Brazilian middle class, and Brazilian favela inhabitants. The films will be examined through the weaving of empirical data and theories pertaining cinematic spectatorship, gender and the relationship between cinema and national identity. While analysis of the data has yielded thought-provoking insights on notions of masculinity and identity in the context of postmodern theorisation, the study advocates for further research in the field of cinematic spectatorship in Brazil.

15th EMA Newsletter

2009-09-10T22:54:00.002+02:00

15th EMA Newsletter

Dear EMA members,

Summer is over, but EMA is starting with plenty of activities into the new academic year.

Please consider especially the Call for Articles for the next Emanate magazine, as well as Calls for Applications for two upcoming large EMA events: GeoMundus Symposium 2009 and Erasmus Mundus Second Thematic Conference "Communication and Dialogue on Energy and Sustainable Development".

Yours,

EMA

EMA

Call for Articles and Photos for New Emanate Magazine!
The next issue of Emanate, EMA's own magazine, will be published in late autumn. Submit your articles and photos until September 20, 2009, and take your chance to share your thoughts with the EMA members in the new issue![more]

Thematic Conference: Communication and Dialogue on Energy and Sustainable Development

Call for applications is now open for the second Erasmus Mundus Thematic Conference organized together with N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie, University of Groningen and DG for Culture and Education of the European Commission. [more]

Latin American Chapter Directive Board Elections - Polls are now open!

Members of EMA Latin American Chapter can cast their votes in the elections of the Directive Boards, starting from now on. Polls will be open until 18 September 2009. [more]

Call for Industry Contacts! And other Updates from the EMA’s Jobs & Career Team.

Here you will find an update on the Jobs and Careers Team industrial networking, vacancies and outreach activities along with a glimpse of what is in store from the Team for this year... [more]

EMA Steering Committee Handover Meeting Report Online!

The Handover Meeting of EMA Steering Committee took place from 17 to 18 July 2009 in Frankfurt. [more]

EMA Taiwan Network

EMA Taiwan Network announces its upcoming activities and events. All Taiwanese EM students and alumni are invited to join the network! [more]

Iqbal Akbar New President of EMA SEA Chapter!

EMA South East Asia Chapter has conducted its presidential elections over the past weeks. Of the three candidates, Iqbal Akbar has won the presidency in a landslide victory... [more]

Field Reporter: Festival MED’s 6th edition!

From June 24th-28th, 2009, this year's Festival MED (http://www.festivalmed.com.pt) in Loulé, Portugal, showed once again its growth in the world music festival scene. Ariadna Purroy Albet experienced it also as an encounter and mixture of cultures in gastronomy, exhibitions, handicrafts and animated theater. [more]

Spanish Fulbright Alumni Association invites EMA Representative to Annual Dinner

Andrea Piehl was invited to represent EMA at the annual dinner of the Spanish Fulbright Association. In the following report, she discusses her impressions and the experiences of other Student and Alumni Associations, which she believes are valuable for the EMA as well... [more]

EMA invited to ALGANT Graduation Ceremony

Dane Lukic of EMA Conferences and Events Team (CAT) was present at the ALGANT graduation ceremony as official EMA representative. Read his report for expressions and suggestions... [more]

Field Report: Body World Exhibition in Seville

EM student Praveen Kumar, in his function as a Field Reporter for EMA, has made an exiting trip to Body World in Seville. The exposition has been discussed controversely throughout European media. Read the first hand account here... [more]

EMA Regional Chapter CIS and Mongolia

Online elections were held to choose the president and the vice-president of the newly launched EMA Chapter. [more]

Erasmus Mundus Programme

Upcoming Erasmus Mundus Event: GeoMundus Symposium 2009!
GeoMundus is the inaugural Erasmus Mundus Symposium on Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences to be held in Lisbon from October 30 to November 1, 2009 . The organizing committee is a group of students from the Erasmus Mundus Masters in Geospatial Technologies Program. [more]

Erasmus Mundus Pre-departure Orientation in Russia

The first Erasmus Mundus pre-departure orientation for Russian students took place in Moscow on 31 July 2009 in the office of the EC delegation to the Russian Federation. [more]

International Education Events

Opportunity for Environment Activists - EarthCorps International program
The internationally recognized organization EarthCorps offers a learning program in Seattle, Washington State. Find out more about the great opportunity to participipate in the 6-months program that charges no tuition or fees here...[more]

Climate 2009 - Online Conference

The 2nd online Climate Conference "Klima 2009/Climate 2009" will be held from 2nd to 6th November 2009. This year's conference will focus on the latest scientific findings and information on social, economic and political aspects of the climate change. [more]

One Issue One Programme

MSc in NeBCC – The Bits and Bytes of Information Technology and e-Business
MSc in Network and e-Business Centered Computing is today the focus of "One issue - One Programme" special feature... [more]

2nd CROSSWAYS GENERAL MEETING

2009-09-09T14:33:00.004+02:00

2nd CROSSWAYS GENERAL MEETING

It is my pleasure to announce that the tradition started by Roberta Gregoli will continue this year, with the 2^nd Crossways General Meeting of Students. The GM allows students from all the 7 universities from the consortium to meet and discuss the changes that should be made to the program. Last year, issues such as that of the heavy workload in the 2^nd semester, were addressed to the director of the program after being discussed in the GM, and are now in the process of being changed. In addition, the General Meeting is a great opportunity to meet another university, another city, and students who otherwise you wouldn’t have met.

Where: Lisbon, Portugal

When: November 13-15, 2009

This year, for the first time, the Alumni meeting will be parallel to the students’ meeting, allowing for joint activities and discussions regarding the past, present and future of the program. In addition, students will have the opportunity to explore Lisbon and its wonders! Financial help will be available for accommodation in hostels.

If you are interested in participating, please send me an email (guerreiro.asofia@gmail.com) before Wednesday, 30^th September and let me know how many nights you’re spending in Lisbon, so that accommodation costs can be calculated.

I hope to see you all there!

Erasmus Mundus in Brazil Network

2009-09-06T01:39:00.013+02:00

If you are a Brazilian Erasmus Mundus student or alumni, please read the following message in Portuguese.

Prezad@ ex-alun@ Erasmus Mundus,

Como parte da iniciativa de divulgar o programa Erasmus Mundus no território nacional, venho convidá-l@s a participar do grupo Erasmus Mundus no Brasil (http://groups.google.com/group/mundus-no-brasil).

Os objetivos do grupo são:

- Estabelecer uma rede sólida entre alumni brasileir@s de maneira a promover interação social e profissional;
- Discutir maneiras eficientes de promover e divulgar o EM no Brasil, bem como auxiliar candidat@s brasileir@s no processo de seleção;
- Organizar e realizar palestras informativas;
- Compartilhar materiais promocionais e promover treinamentos informais, de maneira que todos transmitamos a mesma mensagem.

Para entrar no grupo, por favor acesse 
         
      Subscribe to Erasmus Mundus no Brasil   
   
      Email:       
     Visit this group 
 
e clique em "Sign in and apply for membership".

A Rede EM no Brasil está em crescimento constante, tendo realizado mais de 10 visitas a universidades brasileiras, participado uma feira de educação de grande porte (ExpoBelta 2009) e em encontros de assessores internacionais.

Adoraríamos ter você a bordo! Você escolhe se quer participar mais ou menos ativamente (através da função "Edit my membership", onde você escolhe se quer receber emails diários ou não).

Qualquer dúvida ou esclarecimento, não hesite em me contactar pessoalmente em roberta.gregoli@ema-la.eu

Esperamos ver você em breve!

Roberta Gregoli
MA Erasmus Mundus Crossways in Humanities
University of Sheffield, Université de Perpignan and Universidade Nova de Lisboa

EMA Country Representative for Brazil
EMA Latin America Promotions Team

Virtual Symposium

2009-08-26T12:01:00.006+02:00

The heterologies blog, while serving a noble purpose as the primary information point for the Crossways programme, has also the potential to unite the Crossways community in more active and more meaningful ways. One of the best ways in which to achieve this goal is essentially to enable the blog to be a point of dialog, essentially the means of conversation between both Crossways students, past and present, and academics.

The creation of a virtual symposium which operates within the blog serves precisely this purpose, and while I have some ideas, the point of the symposium is participation and to that end I would like to invite any suggestions that you, current and previous mundus students might have.

Several key features of the proposed symposium include:

Brevity – individual submissions should not exceed 2000 words, this is for a variety of reasons, Crossways students are generally rather occupied, as are academics, and a shorter length invites a greater level of participation, in so far as it is easier to read and respond to a shorter academic article.

Round table style discussion – the symposium as I would like to propose it would be centred on a specific subject area and consist of a variety of responses and counter responses, a slightly more elaborated academic debate, if you will, that one might be likely to find in a conference. Each submission may respond to one or more of the previous submissions creating a network of academic consideration that is heterogeneous, if not explicitly heterological.

Outside Academic Participation – following discussions with Prof Girard, the symposium would invite academics both within and without the program to both contribute and to evaluate potential submissions in order to ensure that the symposium conforms to the high academic standards that are demanded within the Mundus Crossways program.

One of the key features of such a symposium is precisely the potential pool of participation and of expertise, being a ‘virtual’ symposium there is no question of time limit or of location, all past and present Mundus Crossways students would be invited to participate, along with academics from a variety of locations. Also, nothing the importance of publications in academic life and the difficulty new academics experience in breaking into journal publications, this symposium could offer vital experience and serve as a stepping stone in the creation of an academic career.

The salient point is that while such a symposium has a lot of potential to be both engaging, exciting and useful to current and past students, the success of such a symposium rests on community participation.

To this end, and to enable further organisation of the symposium the question of the topic needs to be addressed. Again, in order to ensure maximum participation the subject in question should be accessible – that is not too domain specific, while nevertheless retaining a level of academic rigor. So, in the comments section of this post, feel free to suggest a topic, or topics, either in the form of a title, or of a quote that would be a point of departure.

Appartamento bergamasco in affito

2009-08-08T10:36:00.003+02:00

Marco and Giulia Patelli are willing to welcome a Crossway’s tribe for the next semester to their wonderful flat at Bergamo. Here are 6 reasons why this flat is perfect for Mundus Students

1. It is 125 m2

2. And has Three bedrooms (two single and one double)

3. As well as a Living room

4. The Sixth and last floor has two (!) terraces, with views of the Città Alta and the gli Alpi Orobia.

5. A Complete kitchen and bathroom equipment including electric oven, washing machine, dish washer and Jacuzzi.

6. The Geographical situation: Borgo Santa Caterina District. Just 15 min. walk from Via Pignolo and St. Agostinho Library, 25 min. from Città Alta and Città Bassa Town Center (Train and Bus Station).

The owners are very kind people. Both are professors and know everything about Bergamo as Mrs. Patelli also works at the tourism office. They love discovering new cultures.

Contact: marcopatelli1@virgilio.it or (+39) 3472228229

They Speak Italian, German, English and Spanish.