Confronting Contradictions: Genre Subversion and Feminist Politics in Agnès Varda's L'une chante,l'autre pas

French filmmaker Agnès Varda's career has been largely defined by contradiction. She is acknowledged as influential, yet often discussed independently from the advanced filmmaking practices and intellectual debates of her New Wave generation. Her musical, L'une chante, l'autre pas, was particularly misunderstood: film critics and feminist scholars praised the film's feminist storyline, but found that the unexpected musical numbers undercut the seriousness of the feminist message, resulting in a film that is ultimately incongruous. Through archival excavation of Varda's sources, I argue that the film's incongruity was in fact intentional, an expansion of advanced filmmaking theories and strategies, in dialogue with influential Brechtian texts and contemporary feminist debates. This essay reveals specific social and economic factors that influenced the production and reception of the film and reconsiders apparent contradictions in Varda's career.     

Children’s museums as cultural development strategies for urban revitalization

Cities have increasingly invested in cultural institutions in hopes of revitalizing their urban centers. Critical of the value of these expenditures, scholars have called for an examination of the various types of cultural institutions in which cities have invested, to determine whether they are capable of simultaneously serving the economic, physical, and social goals of urban revitalization. In response to that call, I examine whether the children’s museum, a distinct type of cultural investment, is able to provide this range of public benefit. To do so, I draw on secondary sources to examine the origins, development, and current practices of children’s museum and present an illustrative example of a children’s museum that is intended to serve as a catalyst for urban revitalization in a small city in the USA. I contend that children’s museums are worthy recipients of public funding because they are simultaneously able to address these diverse agendas.     

The tragedy of the commodity and the farce of AquAdvantage Salmon

The US Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve AquAdvantage Salmon as the first genetically modified animal for human consumption. The genetic modifications allow the proprietary fish to grow at a rate twice as fast as a wild salmon, leading to greater ‘efficiency’ in terms of reduced costs and reduced time to market. This article provides an analysis of the ways in which AquAdvantage Salmon exemplifies capitalist market forces controlling and guiding the terms of salmon recovery and conservation. The authors trace historical developments within the salmon industry to demonstrate how capitalist commodity production has impacted fishing communities. They reject the oft-cited ‘tragedy of the commons’ hypothesis offered to explain fisheries crises. In its place, they offer the conceptual framework of the ‘tragedy of the commodity’ to explore how capitalist market forces and complicit state regulations amplify rather than resolve global environmental problems.     

Hugh of St. Victor and the Authorship of In Threnos Ieremiae*

The great esteem in which Hugh of St. Victor (d. 1141) was held by his contemporaries and by subsequent theologians led to the false attribution of a number of works to the Victorine. The prophetic commentaries have been especially challenged, while In Threnos Ieremiae alone has remained unquestioned. This article questions the authenticity of that work, however, because it departs in both content and style from Hugh's authentic commentaries. A computer search on words and phrases using the Patrologia Latina Database turned up a number of polemical comments about Jews much at odds with Hugh's generally irenic attitude toward Jews. Moreover, the search revealed items unique to the Lamentations commentary, but not unique to the non-authentic works and the disputed prophetic commentaries. Although the literal explanations in Lamentations do generally resemble Hugh's style, the additions of allegorical and moral explanations are unusual. They may indicate that a second party added to an initial work by Hugh. The polemical use of the words perdy , blindness, Jew, and Judaism, however, suggests authorship by another, particularly since these expressions turn up in other works no longer credited to Hugh of St.Victor.     

The geographic origins of Nasca trophy heads using strontium,oxygen, and carbon isotope data

Scholars continue to debate the identity of individuals curated as trophy heads in the Nazca Drainage of southern Peru (c. 1–800 AD). What was the role of trophy heads in Nasca society? Were they victims of warfare or venerated ancestors? Strontium, oxygen, and carbon isotope data from archaeological human tooth enamel from Nasca trophy heads from Aja, Cahuachi, Cantayo, Majoro Chico and Paredones, and from individuals buried in Nasca cemeteries at Cahuachi, Cantayo, and Majoro Chico elucidate the geographic origins and paleodiet of trophy heads in the Nazca Drainage. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and δ¹⁸O_c(V-PDB) data from both the trophy heads and the Nazca Drainage burials are all quite variable, and do not support the hypothesis that the Nasca trophy heads were obtained from a geographically-distinct population. Similarly, the δ¹³C_c(V-PDB) data demonstrates that the individuals included in this study consumed similar diets. These data suggest that the Nasca trophy heads likely derive from the local Nasca population. Rather than obtain heads from enemy warriors through geographic expansion or warfare as seen in other parts of the world, this complex social practice existed within the Nasca polity throughout space and time.     

The horse, the Kyrgyz horse and the 'Kyrgyz horse'

Ethnographic material gathered among horse owners in Kyrgyzstan, as part of a multi disciplinary project based at the McDonald Institute of Archaeological Research is used to explore diverse ideas about horse breeding.     

Physical activity and rural young people's sense of place

This paper explores rural young people's perceptions of their local environments in relation to their experiences with physical activities through the use of visual methodologies. The main findings from map, photo and interview data from 13 rural young Australians included the importance of friends, family, and gender structures which are discussed in relation to developing a sense of place and how this shapes their experience in physical activities. The findings highlight the importance of sociocultural issues and raises questions regarding measuring physical activity prompting further qualitative research to inform sustainable and equitable physical activity promotion initiatives for rural young people.