Rethinking the metaphor of light: María Zambrano in dialogue with Jacques Derrida and Hans Blumenberg

ABSTRACT

The notion of metaphor has been broadly discussed during the twentieth century as an essential and necessary part of language and history. This article examines the theoretical dialogue that links the centrality of the metaphor of light in the work of María Zambrano with reflections on this topic by Jacques Derrida and Hans Blumenberg. Through various formulations of this metaphor across different works, Zambrano presents the metaphor linked to poetic reason as not reducible to a mere rhetorical ornament or to a concept. By articulating alternative metaphors to the imperative of clarity as the blinding light of Occidental reason, Zambrano introduces a solid critique to rationalism and introduces the metaphor of the Dawn as a new form of knowledge. This new intonation of the metaphor of light opens up an unexplored direction in Spanish thought not only by thinking the metaphor of light through poetic reason and its critique to the philosophical tradition, but also by assuming the political implications of this metaphor and criticizing its heliopolitical configuration. Indeed, Zambrano states the significance of the metaphor of the sun linked to the sacrificial structure of history, particularly of Spain, and its necessary overcoming as the possibility of a radical democracy.     

The Sound of Rock Art. The Acoustics of the Rock Art of Southern Andalusia (Spain)

This paper explores the potential of acoustics to interpret the prehistoric rock art of southern Andalusia (Spain). Tests undertaken in two areas, north of the Celemín river and the Bacinete area, will form the basis of our discussion. The results obtained at a selection of rock art sites show that the two key rock art sites, El Tajo de las Figuras and the large shelter at Bacinete, both with the majority of paintings in the earlier Laguna de la Janda style, had good resonance values. In contrast, at most of the other minor sites tested, the values for resonance were negative or insignificant, regardless of whether they were painted in Laguna de la Janda or schematic style. We conclude that the major rock art sites in southern Andalusia were chosen not only for their geological appearance and location in the landscape, but also for their acoustic properties.     

Songs of the Fields: The Forgotten Songs of the Valencian Community

Agricultural work in many cultures has been accompanied by a series of songs used to break the monotony of work and to give rhythm to the activity. Furthermore, certain facets of life in each society are reflected in their words. The objective of this study is to look at the role of songs relating to farm labour in the social and cultural context of the Valencian Community, through analysis of the accounts of participants and of the significance they attribute to these songs as part of their cultural heritage and community identity.     

First records of Geinitziidae (Insecta: Grylloblattida) from the Upper Triassic of Argentina (Mendoza)

Lara, M.B. & Aristov, D., August 2016. First records of Geinitziidae (Insecta: Grylloblattida) from the Upper Triassic of Argentina (Mendoza). Alcheringa 41, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

A new grylloblattid (Permoshurabia argentina sp. nov.: Geinitziidae) is described and illustrated from the Upper Triassic of Argentina. The material represents the first record of this family from Argentina and expands the geographic distribution of this group during the Triassic.

María Belén Lara [lara.maria.belen@live.com.ar], Area Paleontología (Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral-Universidad Nacional del Nordeste-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas), Casilla de Correo 128, 3400 Corrientes, Argentina; Danil Aristov [danil_aristov@mail.ru], Borissak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya str. 123, Moscow, 117997, Russia.     

Disparities in entrepreneurial activity and attitude across EU countries

The levels and characteristics of entrepreneurship differ widely across EU countries and regions. Taking as reference data provided by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor on entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurial attitude, this paper analyses the disparities in entrepreneurship indicators among EU member countries in 2007 and 2013, highlighting the most significant changes that occurred during the Great Recession. Some of the major indices of inequality are calculated (Gini, Theil and Atkinson) and the change in the Gini coefficient between these two years is additively decomposed into mobility and progressivity components. Overall, we find that cross-national inequalities tend to increase in the procyclical aspects of entrepreneurial activity and attitude, while they tend to decrease in the countercyclical aspects. For entrepreneurial activity indicators, we reveal that heterogeneity increases in indicators such as opportunity-driven entrepreneurial activity and total entrepreneurial activity, while necessity-driven entrepreneurial activity becomes more homogeneous across countries. Regarding entrepreneurial attitudes, disparities among countries decrease in all indicators, except in perceived opportunities, for which cross-national inequality grows considerably during the crisis period.     

Cultural diversity and free trade: the case of the EU-Canada agreement

This article examines the role assigned to culture in general and to cultural industries and diversity in particular by the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA). Although it pursues further economic liberalization, the arrangement is about much more than trade: its preamble, for instance, contains a reference to the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Nevertheless, the text lacks a general exception clause protecting culture. This paper examines the consolidated CETA text from the perspective of political economy to clarify to what extent this is an opportunity to reconcile rules of free trade with cultural policies aiming to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions, especially when the latter derive from cultural industries in both analogue and digital scenarios.     

Crafting identities in a multinational context: evidence from Catalonia

The nationalist messages that family and school transmit are very often concurrent, making it difficult to measure their independent impact on individuals. In order to separate out the leverage of these two agents of socialisation, this article focuses on a case study in which such concurrence cannot be taken for granted: Catalonia. The article exploits variation in parents' national identification, resulting from the presence of a population born in other regions of Spain outside Catalonia, to tease out the effect of both parents and Catalan school in crafting individuals' identification. The results, which draw on the analysis of a household survey, suggest that more years of schooling makes more likely that individuals develop a dual identity; however, parents' attachment to Catalonia is key in fostering an exclusive identification with Catalonia. Results also suggest that residence in neighbourhoods in which the proportion of natives and immigrants from other regions of Spain favours contact between children from different identity backgrounds is decisive in promoting a more Catalan‐oriented identification between second generations.     

Book reviews

Local Development — Restructuring, Locality and Economic Initiative in Portugal. Stephen Syrett. Aldershot, Avebury, 1996, US$75.95, ISBN 1 856 28 4840.

Geographic Information Systems: Socioeconomic Applications. David Martin. New York, Routledge, 1996, XXII + 210 pp., £45.00 hb, £14.99 pb, ISBN 0 415 12571 5 hb, 0 415 12572 3 pb.

Town and Country Planning in Britain (11th edition). J. B. Cullingworth and V. Nadin. London, Routledge, 1994, XX + 343 pp., £14.99pb, ISBN 0 415 10708 3.

Towards Visitor Impact Management. Visitor Impacts, Carrying Capacity and Management Responses in Europe's Historic Towns and Cities. J. Glasson, K. Godfrey and B. Goodey (with H. Absalom and J. Van der Borg). Aldershot, Avebury, Urban and Regional Planning and Development Series, 1995, XII + 189 pp., £35.00 hb, ISBN 1 85972 054 4.     

Women,Gender and Human Rights: Women's International Organisations and Solidarity with Chile

This article analyses the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom's (WILPF) and Women's International Democratic Federation's (WIDF) fact-finding missions sent to Chile in 1974. It explains how women's international organisations presented reports and information about human rights abuses during Genera Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship (1973–1990). By using their publications, oral interviews, memoirs and press reports, the study sheds light on the extensive efforts deployed by the WILPF and WIDF to disseminate knowledge and promote actions designed to improve the lives of Chilean women. The article shows that women's international organisations promoted inclusive ideas of rights, including women's particular experiences under military rule, and that such efforts built in the organisations' previous experiences of human rights activism.