Zambrano’s poetic reason in the light of Frankfurtian Critical Theory

ABSTRACT

María Zambrano's biggest contribution to intellectual history is, without a doubt, her poetic reason; her unique attempt to overcome the limiting coordinates of the framework of rationality established by the Enlightenment. Having spent forty-five years in exile, the relevance of this Republican thinker has only been acknowledged in recent decades. Since then, the political content of her early work, as well as her engagement with the Republic's cause prior to and during the Spanish Civil War are well known. Nevertheless, although Zambrano still wrote some political books after the Civil War, most notably, Persona y democracia (1958), the political component of her thought after this period has passed largely unnoticed. This article intends to take a wider approach to Zambrano's political engagement by exploring the political significance of her poetic reason. Here I contend, first, that poetic reason, far from being an isolated attempt at developing an alternative rationality, is actually in line with the critique of instrumental reason proposed by the Frankfurt School and, second, that, in fact, there are meaningful parallels between poetic reason and Frankfurtian Critical Theory. Thus, the purpose of this article is to explore such parallels and their significance in revealing the political dimension of Zambrano's thought.     

Improving land readjustment practice. Application of management models to Portugal

Whilst the advantages of the application of Land Readjustment (LR) are well known, there are nevertheless numerous countries in which application of LR is difficult or has not been successful. In its analysis of land readjustment constraints, conditions and the international practice, this paper contributes to improving the implementation of an LR system, particularly with respect to the management process. At the international level, management models in seven countries were studied: Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Spain and Sweden. In Portugal, three case studies in the municipalities of Almada, Coimbra and Lisbon were selected, with semi-structured interviews being conducted with the respective managing entities. The management models are distinguished by the type of initiative and leadership processes, relations among stakeholders, managing entities and operating rules. It can be concluded that the role of the public authority as the process facilitator from the very initial stages, the existence of a managing entity and a board of specialists, and the legal conditions governing expropriation are key factors for the improvement of land readjustment management.     

Nationalising indigenous peoples,legalising indigenous lands: a (post)colonial critique of the land demarcation process in Brazil by the analysis of the Guarani-Mbyá case

The Brazilian 1988 constitution recognises indigenous peoples as ‘first and natural owners of Brazilians land’ and the 231st Article ensures their right to special territories where they could live their culture and traditions without colonising presence. The authentication of these territories, however, requires Public Power promotion, which lies on colonising, juridical accounts and depends on anthropological, scientifically historical research. Our argument here is that the bureaucratisation of the land demarcation process is only possible within a context of epistemological advantage of science, i.e. modernity, which ignores indigenous territory and time conceptions. We will also argue that this bureaucratisation has been contributing to the (neo)colonisation of the territory by retarding the recognition and protection of indigenous rights.     

Dietary differences in individuals buried in a multiethnic neighborhood in Teotihuacan: stable dental isotopes from Teopancazco

This study examines the diet consumed by the population at the neighborhood center of Teopancazco, Teotihuacan, in the basin of Mexico. We used stable isotope analysis of δ13C and δ15N of the dentine collagen as well as the δ13C from enamel bioapatite from teeth (M2 and M3) of 39 of excavated burials. The results show that the diet consumed by the majority of the population during childhood and adolescence had high 13C enriched values in both dietary components: δ13C enamel_bioapatite = ?2.0 ‰ ± 1.5 for the whole diet and δ13C dentine_collagen = ? 9.4 ‰ ± 2.1 for the protein component. According to the bi-variable and multivariable models, some individuals consumed higher amounts of C4/CAM resources than those specified in cluster #2 (70 % C4 diet; ≥50 % C4/CAM protein). An inter-tissue adjustment of 2.3 ‰ was used to relate the enamel bioapatite data to the bone bioapatite of the models. Average δ15Ndentine_collagen was 10.2 ‰ ± 2.8 with high variability especially for four individuals, three of which belong to special burials, suggesting different access to meat or marine products due to their social or migration status and/or to pathological conditions. The data suggest that maize was the staple crop of the population not only at Teopancazco but for Teotihuacan as a whole, in the form of tortillas, tamales, atole, and protein from maize-fed animals with the inclusion of other CAM, C4, and C3 resources probably from the bountiful ecosystem of the basin of Mexico or from the wide trade system that Teotihuacan had with Mesoamerica.     

Diet,nutritional status and oral health in hunter‐gatherers from the central‐northern coast of Patagonia and the Chubut river lower valley,Argentina

Archaeological research in central‐northern Patagonia (Atlantic coast and lower the valley of Chubut river) showed that this area was used since at least the Middle Holocene. Stable isotope analyses (¹³C and ¹⁵N) of human bone samples indicate that hunter‐gatherers living in that area had a terrestrial‐marine diet including guanaco meat, land plants, mollusks and pinnipeds. Despite this general trend, intersite variability and changes through time were noted, especially after the late Holocene. These results have been reinforced by archaeofaunal, technological and bioarchaeological records. In this paper, three hypotheses are examined: (a) the diet of these populations was complete and rich enough to ensure good health status and avoid nutritional deficiencies; (b) carbohydrate consumption increased progressively after 1000 BP, when pottery technology was adopted and (c) this kind of mixed diet would have been qualitatively more nutritious than that of other populations of the region, which would have resulted in better nutritional and healthy conditions. These three hypotheses are compared with dental results obtained from 563 permanent teeth from 45 individuals (34 adults and 11 juveniles from both sexes), rescued from burial sites. Indicators of oral health were assessed through the observation of caries, abscesses, wear, pulpar cavity exposure and ante mortem loss. Features of nutritional status such as enamel hypoplasia, porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia were also examined. Given the availability of direct radiocarbon dating for most of the sample, three temporal series were determined: ‘Before 1000 BP’, ‘1000–5000 BP’ and ‘Post‐contact’. No evidence of alimentary stress or iron deficiency was found in individuals from the three series, which accounts for healthy and good nutritional life conditions. After 1000 BP, the results show a progressive increase in the caries percentage and a decrease in abscesses, dental wear and ante mortem losses frequency. This is possibly related to more consumption of processed foods in the last 1000 years. These results were compared with similar studies based on samples from different environments and latitudes of Patagonia. Evidence suggests that mixed diets (marine‐terrestrial) would have been more appropriate and nutritionally complete than exclusively marine or terrestrial diets. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Technology Transfer between Technology Centres and SMEs: Evidence from the Basque Country

Public policies (often at the regional level) favouring pre-competitive research and cooperative research and development have played a decisive role in the development of technology centres in Europe and all over the world. The technology offer model gave priority to the creation of technology transfer organizations and structures, but there is increasing evidence that this model did not attach enough attention to the needs of small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs) and in particular, to their capacity to take in knowledge. In this paper, based on qualitative research, we show in detail some of the main issues involved in the relationships between technology centres and SMEs in the Basque Country, a region that has developed intensive policies favouring technology transfer organizations over the years.     

Bilbao's Art Scene and the “Guggenheim effect” Revisited

The article analyzes the effects of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (GMB), adopting a new research perspective and trying to pursue the links between the museum and Bilbao's art scene. Until now, the impact of the museum has been analyzed from two different perspectives. The first focused on the urban development and regeneration aspects and the success of the museum as a tourist magnet and an image-making device. The second perspective concentrated on the direct economic benefits of the museum, i.e. direct returns and effects on the economy. The missing lens in previous analyses, however, was the impact of the museum on the city's art landscape, including the art support activities. In this context, the article describes for the first time in a detailed way how the GMB has contributed to the shaping and propulsion of changes on commercial and non-profit art spaces in Bilbao. Although it is clear that other factors may play a role, it can be asserted that the effects of the museum are not only limited to an increase in tourism or fiscal return, but also contribute to the development and spatial articulation of the local art scene and public support of the arts.     

WHAT IS CULTURAL POLICY RESEARCH?

Cultural policy research exists in many contexts, asks many different kinds of questions and adopts a wide repertoire of research methodologies from a raft of academic discourses. This article investigates the research questions and approaches being undertaken by those working in this field. In order to achieve this, the article draws upon readings of contemporary publications in the field and on the authors’ experiences of building a research capacity in the area of cultural policy in a British – and, more particularly, a post‐devolution Scottish – university. The article traces the emergence of an academic discipline in the field, and seeks to advance this by reviewing a tripartite research agenda investigating: the history and historiography of cultural policy; the principles and strategies of cultural policy; and, the relationships between cultural policy and cultural theory/cultural studies.     

The Chronology of Settlements with Pre‐Inca and Inca Occupations Superimposed: the Case of Pucará de Tilcara (Humahuaca Gorge,Argentina)

The region of the Central and South Andes was, in about the ninth and 15th centuries ad , the stage for the development of political systems tending towards demographic centralization in villages with defensive structures, known as Pucará. The chronological accuracy for these phenomena still remains uncertain, mainly because it involves intervals of long and superimposed occupations, masked by the Inca domination. Thus, this paper analyses the history of the occupation at Pucará de Tilcara, one of the biggest populated centres of the Humahuaca Gorge (Quebrada de Humahuaca, Argentina). Twenty‐five radiocarbon dates are critically evaluated to judge its reliability. The Bayesian statistics show that all the dated spaces were used on a long‐term basis. The most ancient signs are in the middens and relate at least to the 10th century ad , and the occupation of the housing areas could be calculated to the 13th and 16th centuries. A phase of higher intensity of occupation is observed during the Inca period. This redefinition of this site occupation shows the need to statistically analyse the dates in order to differentiate the phases of occupation.     

Distorted Narratives: Morocco,Spain, and the Colonial Stratigraphy of Cultural Heritage

International cultural development projects entail a neoliberal agenda that frequently echoes colonial ideologies and discourses. Using the case study of Chaouen, a northern city in Morocco, I argue in this paper that former colonies and aid-receiving countries usually overlap, and serve the former metropolises to continue controlling the former colony’s human and economic resources. I discuss how the former colonial power, in this case Spain, regulates and promotes a particular heritage discourse that has conveniently been depoliticised. I further contend that in line with previous colonial narratives, Spain has silenced the painful history of struggle and resilience of the inhabitants of Chaouen.