Collective violence : a study of the gendered and socio-economic factors behind early modern Italian and English witch hunts

In this study, I build upon my previous research in which I focus on religious doctrine as a gendered disciplinary apparatus, and examine the witch trials in early modem England and Italy in light of socio-economic issues relating to gender and class. This project examines the witch hunts/trials and early modem visual representations of witches, and what I suggest is an attempt to create docile bodies out of members of society who are deemed unruly, problematic and otherwise 'undesirable'; it is the witch's body that is deemed counternormative. This study demonstrates that it is neighbours and other acquaintances of accused witches that take on the role of the invisible guard of Bantham's Panoptic on. As someone who is trained in the study of English literature and literary theory, my approach is one that is informed by this methodology. It is my specialization in early modem British literature that first exposed me to witch-hunting manuals and tales of the supernatural, and it is for this reason that my research commences with a study of representations of witches and witchcraft in early modem England. From my initial exposure to such materials I proceed to examine the similarities and the differences of the cultural significance of the supernatural vis-a.-vis women's activities in early modem Italy. The subsequent discussion of visual representations of witches involves a predominance of Germanic artists, as the seminal work on the discernment of witches and the application of punishment known as the Malleus Meleficarum, was written in Germany circa 1486. Textual accounts of witch trials such as: "A Pitiless Mother (1616)," "The Wonderful Discovery of the Witchcrafts of Margaret and Philippa Flower (1619)," "Magic and Poison: The Trial ofChiaretta and Fedele (circa 1550)", and the "The Case of Benvegnuda Pincinella: Medicine Woman or Witch (1518),"and witchhunting manuals such as the Malleus Melejicarum and Strix will be put in direct dialogue with visual representations of witches in light of historical discourses pertaining to gender performance and gendered expectations. Issues relating to class will be examined as they pertain to the material conditions of presumed witches. The dominant group in any temporal or geographic location possesses the tools of representation. Therefore, it is not surprising that the physical characteristics, sexual habits and social material conditions that are attributed to suspected witches are attributes that can be deemed deviant by the ruling class. The research will juxtapose the social material conditions of suspected witches with the guilt, anxiety, and projection of fear that the dominant groups experienced in light of the changing economic landscape of the Renaissance. The shift from feudalism to primitive accumulation, and capitalism saw a rise in people living in poverty and therefore an increased dependence upon the good will of others. I will discuss the social material conditions of accused witches as informed by what Robyn Wiegman terms a "minoritizing discourse" (210). People of higher economic standing often blamed their social, medical, and/or economic difficulties on the less fortunate, resulting in accusations of witchcraft.

Ontario horticultural societies annual report. (1920)

Issued by: Dept. of Agriculture, 1906- ; by: Dept. of Agriculture and Food, <1966->1970.

Bee Communities in Restored Landfill Sites of Niagara Region

This study examined the impact of habitat restoration on bee communities (Hymenoptera: Apidae) of the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. Bee abundance and diversity was studied in three restored landfill sites: the Glenridge Quarry Naturalization Site (GQNS) in St. Catharines, Elm Street Naturalization Site in Port Colborne, and Station Road Naturalization Site in Wainfleet during 2011 and 2012. GQNS represented older sites restored from 2001-2003. Elm and Station sites represented newly restored landfills as of 2011. These sites were compared to control sites at Brock University where bee communities are well established and again to other landfills where no stable habitat was available before restoration. The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of restoration level on bee abundance and diversity in restored landfill sites of the Niagara Region. Based on the increased disturbance hypothesis (InDH) and the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH), I hypothesized that bee abundance and diversity will follow two patterns. First pattern according to InDH suggest that as the disturbance decrease the bee abundance and diversity will increased. Second pattern according to the IDH bee abundance and diversity will be the highest at the intermediate level of disturbance. A total of 7 173 bees were collected using pan traps and flower collections, from May to October 2011 and 2012. Bees were classified to five families, 21 genera and sub-genera, containing at least 78 species. In 2011 bee abundance was not significantly different among restoration levels while in 2012 bee abundance was significant difference among restoration level. According to family there were no significant difference in Halictidae and Apidae abundance among restoration level while Colletidae and Megachilidae abundance were varied among restoration levels. The bee species richness was highest in the newly restored sites followed by restored control sites, and then the control site. The current study demonstrates that habitat restoration results in rapid increases in bee abundance and diversity for newly restored sites, and, further, that it takes only 2-3 years for bee assemblages in newly restored sites to arrive at the same levels of abundance and diversity as in nearby control sites where bee communities are well established.

Advertisement - Thomas Cowan

An advertisement for Thomas Cowan, dealers in boots, shoes, trunks & valises. The ad is bright in colour and shows a shoe sitting on a shell with a fan and dragonfly and flower. It reads "compliments of the season" in the top corner.

Niagara Falls Seminary [school for young Ladies] advertisement, ca. 1840

One broadside advertising the Niagara Falls Seminary [school for young Ladies], run by Mrs. Shotter of Drummondville, ca. 1840. The advertisement contains information about fees and courses, including a complete English education, music, French, drawing and flower painting, and dancing. The bottom of the page contains a list of references for Mrs. Shotter, including Ex-Consul Buchanan, Colonel Delatre, Rev. W. Leeming, Rector of Chippawa (all of Drummondville); Dr. Mewburn (Stamford); Rev. T.B. Fuller, Rector of Thorold; John Stayner, Esq., P.M. Queenston; William Gamble, Esq., Milton, near Toronto; and Hon. John Hamilton, Kingston.

Identification and characterization of a Catharanthus roseus mutant altered in monoterpenoid indole alkaloid biosynthesis

The Madagascar periwinkle [Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don] is a commercially important horticultural flower species and is the only source for several pharmaceutically valuable monoterpenoid indole alkaloids (MIAs), including the powerful antihypertensive ajmalicine and the antineoplastic agents vincristine and vinblastine. While biosynthesis of MIA precursors has been elucidated, conversion of the common MIA precursor strictosidine to MIAs of different families, for example ajmalicine, catharanthine or vindoline, remains uncharacterized. Deglycosylation of strictosidine by the key enzyme Strictosidine beta-glucosidase (SGD) leads to a pool of uncharacterized reaction products that are diverted into the different MIA families, but the downstream reactions are uncharacterized. Screening of 3600 EMS (ethyl methane sulfonate) mutagenized C. roseus plants to identify mutants with altered MIA profiles yielded one plant with high ajmalicine, and low catharanthine and vindoline content. RNA sequencing and comparative bioinformatics of mutant and wildtype plants showed up-regulation of SGD and the transcriptional repressor Zinc finger Catharanthus transcription factor (ZCT1) in the mutant line. The increased SGD activity in mutants seems to yield a larger pool of uncharacterized SGD reaction products that are channeled away from catharanthine and vindoline towards biosynthesis of ajmalicine when compared to the wildtype. Further bioinformatic analyses, and crossings between mutant and wildtype suggest a transcription factor upstream of SGD and ZCT1 to be mutated, leading to up-regulation of Sgd and Zct1. The crossing experiments further show that biosynthesis of the different MIA families is differentially regulated and highly complex. Three new transcription factors were identified by bioinformatics that seem to be involved in the regulation of Zct1 and Sgd expression, leading to the high ajmalicine phenotype. Increased cathenamine reductase activity in the mutant converts the pool of SGD reaction products into ajmalicine and its stereoisomer tetrahydroalstonine. The stereochemistry of ajmalicine and tetrahydroalstonine biosynthesis in vivo and in vitro was further characterized. In addition, a new clade of perakine reductase-like enzymes was identified that reduces the SGD reaction product vallesiachotamine in a stereo-specific manner, characterizing one of the many reactions immediately downstream of SGD that determine the different MIA families. This study establishes that RNA sequencing and comparative bioinformatics, in combination with molecular and biochemical characterization, are valuable tools to determine the genetic basis for mutations that trigger phenotypes, and this approach can also be used for identification of new enzymes and transcription factors.

Niagara Falls Seminary [school for young Ladies] advertisement, ca. 1840

One broadside advertising the Niagara Falls Seminary [school for young Ladies], run by Mrs. Shotter of Drummondville, ca. 1840. The advertisement contains information about fees and courses, including a complete English education, music, French, drawing and flower painting, and dancing. The bottom of the page contains a list of references for Mrs. Shotter, including Ex-Consul Buchanan, Colonel Delatre, Rev. W. Leeming, Rector of Chippawa (all of Drummondville); Dr. Mewburn (Stamford); Rev. T.B. Fuller, Rector of Thorold; John Stayner, Esq., P.M. Queenston; William Gamble, Esq., Milton, near Toronto; and Hon. John Hamilton, Kingston.

License to Sell Distilled Spirits, 1796

A licence to sell foreign distilled spirits in the Town of Westfield in the County of Hampshire in the District of Massachusetts. The license is for Francis Flower to sell spirits from his store. The documents is signed by Collector of the Revenue, Abel Whitney and, the Supervisor of the Revenue for the District of Massachusetts, Nathaniel Gorman.

Metal Stamp - Lion

Round stamp 2 cm in diameter. This has the image of a lion within a crown holding a flower. The inscription underneath is "sans changer" which means constant or without change. The stamp is 1 cm thick and it has a 1 cm stem protruding from it.