Game of Tropes: the Orientalist tradition in the Works of G.R.R. Martin

George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels (and their television adaption, Game of Thrones) have become arguably the most well known fantasy epic of the last decade. However, the world of A Song of Ice and Fire conforms to many of the same Orientalist tropes that have dominated Western literature since the popularisation of the 'Arabian fantasy' in the 18th and 19th centuries and its subsequent perpetuation in film and television. Derivative imaginings of the real world Middle East are commonly reflected in non-Earthly fantasy worlds and Martin's work incorporates this standard vision of the Eastern Other. Owing to its popularity, the A Song of Ice and Fire series represents a significant reinforcement of Orientalist stereotypes and proves that fantasy locations have significant power to cement these ideas in the popular imagination. Moreover, the negative portyal of the East in these works supports Said's argument that the Orient is an invention of the West, and that our depiction of the Other is a means of framing our own cultural superiority.

To not forget: Pierre Hadot’s last book on Goethe. Pierre Hadot, N’oublie pas de vivre: pas de vivre: Goethe et la tradition des exercises spirituels (Albin Michel, 2008)

N’Oublie pas de vivre: Goethe et la tradition des exercises spirituels, which has remained untranslated, has hitherto attracted little scholarly recognition or critical notice, even in its native French. It is this situation that this review essay hopes to redress, in the small way permitted to any such piece of writing. In what follows, we examine in turn Hadot’s framing claims concerning the shaping ends and origins of Goethe’s species of neoclassicism (Part I), his claims concerning Goethe’s debt to the classical or Hellenistic tradition of spiritual exercises (Part II), before our closing remarks (Part III) challenge some of Hadot’s claims concerning the author of Faust, and then reflect on the significance of the fact that this last philosophical testament of Pierre Hadot’s was on a modern novelist, scientist, and poet, not an ancient philosopher.

The emergence of the private entrepreneur in reform era China: re-birth of an earlier tradition, or a more recent product of development and change?

A private sector that now dominates economic activity has emerged in China since 1978, even though many of the essential institutions for market competition have been lacking or are under-developed. We find that there is no evidence that this upsurge of entrepreneurship is a re-birth of an earlier tradition. Instead, the dynamics of entrepreneurial emergence can be attributed to reforms and institutional changes that have occurred since 1949, both before and after the introduction of economic reforms in late 1978. We find that these institutional changes have been evolutionary, adapting to, as well as shaping, emerging forms of economic activity, including entrepreneurship. Our conclusion is that these dynamics of adaptation and evolution produce ‘rule ambiguities’ within the institutional framework that create opportunities for entrepreneurs as well as making these opportunities vulnerable to further institutional change.

Tradition : connecting the past and present : a case study of Xintiandi in Shanghai

Tradition and modernisation are often seen as a binary opposition. In an urban environment, traditional built form seems incompatible to modern way of life, and the adaptation of traditional neighbourhoods to modern use often causes controversy. Nowadays, ideas about ‘what is tradition’ become shifting, and traditional townscape does not necessarily mean an obstacle to modernisation. This paper reveals how the role of traditional elements is played in China’s urban development. The case study of Xintiandi, Shanghai, where traditional townscape is restored, highlights the connection of the city’s past and present. Xintiandi is a successful yet controversial city renewal project, where Shanghai’s traditional housing form Shikumen is restored and put into adaptive uses. In the course of urban modernisation, the role of tradition as a representation of the connection between the city’s past and present deserves more study. This paper aims to add a perspective to the literature on the study of tradition. It argues for the diversity and fluidity of the ideas about tradition., In this view, tradition is not necessarily in dichotomy with, or opposite to modernisation; rather, tradition justifies the needs of modernisation and supplements its outcomes. The paper is developed in light of works on tradition by Shils, Hobsbawm, Giddens and others; The case study of Xintiandi shows what Old Shanghai tradition means to this city today, and how traditional elements are adapted and used in the course of urban modernisation.