A NOVEL LIFE-HISTORY IN AGLAOTHAMNION-DIAPHANUM-SP NOV (CERAMIACEAE, RHODOPHYTA) FROM BRITTANY AND THE BRITISH-ISLES

A diminutive species of Aglaothamnion (Ceramiaceae, Rhodophyta), A. diaphanum sp. nov., is described from Brittany (Atlantic France), the Isles of Scilly (off S.W. England) and western Ireland. Aglaothamnion diaphanum is confined to the sublittoral zone, where it grows almost exclusively on algae and sessile animals attached to hard substrata. Thalli are delicate, and branched distichously in one plane. The main axes are ecorticate but may form loose non-corticating rhizoidal filaments. The lateral branches bear a characteristic, regularly alternate distichous series of branchlets, the first of which is always adaxial. All vegetative cells are uninucleate. The majority of field-collected plants bear only bisporangia, but a few bisporangial plants also form spermatangia; some male plants and a single female specimen have been collected. The spermatangial branchlets consist of 3-5 spermatangial mother cells each bearing 2-4 spermatangia, which are constricted around a central nucleus. None of the U-shaped carpogonial branches showed any sign of fertilization, and the gametangia appear to be non-functional. The bisporangia are ovoid and contain two uninucleate spores separated by an oblique curved wall. The occurrence of bisporangia and the lack of adherent cortication distinguish A. diaphanum from two similar species, Aglaothamnion bipinnatum (P. Crouan et H. Crouan) Feldmann-Mazoyer and Aglaothamnion decompositum (J. Agardh) Halos. The life history in culture of French and Irish isolates of A. diaphanum consists of a series of bisporangial generations, a single plant of which also formed spermatangia. Apical cells of bisporophytes are haploid (n = c. 32), but the first division of meiosis, with chromosome pairing and crossing over, occurs in dividing bisporocytes. The germinating bispores are haploid. Endodiploidization may occur in the early stages of sporangium development, as in some phycomycete fungi, or in vegetative cells that subsequently give rise to bisporocytes. This is the first demonstration in the red algae of meiotic bisporangia on plants of which the apical cells, at least, are haploid.

AHRC-DFG Project "Songs of the Revolution of 1848 and their Reception History in Germany"

This on-line project consists of commentaries and critical editions of the songs of the 'Vormaerz' and the 1848 Revolution which have shaped the cultural memory of this period in Germany. Looking at both textual and musical developments the research deals with the history of reception of key 1848 songs by established as well as anonymous poets. These together have formed an enduring corpus in the repertoires of singers of German political song. One of the main findings is how songs are not static: they evolve musically and textually and can undergo changes of function during a process of historical reception which is often ideologically motivated.

Conference proceedings: Gardening Time: Reflections on Memory, Monuments and History in Sardinia and Scotland.

S. Stoddart and Malone, C. (eds) In Prep. 2013-4 Oxford, Oxbow Books. 25+ themed papers

Teaching Art History to Design Students

Art History is often seen as a mandatory core course in the curricula of design programs but it is rarely tailored to the needs and goals of such programs. Instead, the traditional chronological organization of lecture topics, invariably beginning with the “Venus of Willendorf” (c. 25,000 BC) is presented in order to impart to the students a supposed holistic “big picture.” This essay outlines the re-structuring of a two-semester first-year faculty-wide introductory art history course, entitled “History of Art and Design,” in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design at Izmir University of Economics, Izmir, Turkey. The course was re-configured from a conventional chronologically-presented (time-oriented) lecture series to a thematically presented (topic-oriented) lecture series more relevant to the students of the faculty – architecture, interior architecture, graphic design, industrial design, and fashion design students.

Changing Paradigms in Space Theories:Recapturing 20th Century Architectural History

The concept of space entered architectural history as late as 1893. Studies in art opened up the discussion, and it has been studied in various ways in architecture ever since. This article aims to instigate an additional reading to architectural history, one that is not supported by "isms" but based on space theories in the 20th century. Objectives of the article are to bring the concept of space and its changing paradigms to the attention of architectural researchers, to introduce a conceptual framework to classify and clarify theories of space, and to enrich the discussions on the 20th century architecture through theories that are beyond styles. The introduction of space in architecture will revolve around subject-object relationships, three-dimensionality and senses. Modern space will be discussed through concepts such as empathy, perception, abstraction, and geometry. A scientific approach will follow to study the concept of place through environment, event, behavior, and design methods. Finally, the research will look at contemporary approaches related to digitally supported space via concepts like reality-virtuality, mediated experience, and relationship with machines.

The Newsletter of the International Federation for Research in Women's History: Presentation to Its Conference in Sofia, 8 August 2007

Presented as part of the twentieth anniversary celebrations of the International Federation for Research in Women's History in Sofia in August 2007, this paper examines the association's newsletter to explore what it reveals about the expansion of the academic infrastructure for women's history from 1987 to 2007. It looks at the rapid advancement of the subject in the 1980s and early 1990s and its slower growth in the following decade. It also explores briefly the problems that the establishment of Women's Studies Centres presented for women's history.