Trace-metal biogeochemistry in the Mediterranean Thau Lagoon, a shellfish farming area

The present study contributes to the knowledge of the biogeochemistry of Pb, Cd, Cu, and Ni in the Mediterranean Than Lagoon, southern France, which is an important shellfish farming system. The concentrations of the metals were determined in sediment cores and the overlying waters using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Particular attention was given to the determination of dissolved Cu species because of their dual role as essential nutrient and toxicant to planktonic organisms. Dissolved Cu speciation was determined using the diffusive gradient in thin-film technique (DGT) and competitive ligand exchange-adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (CLE-ACSV). Our data indicated a significant historical contamination of the sediments, which commenced in the second half of the 19th century, with trace metal inputs persisting until the end of the 20th century. In recent years a decrease in metal contamination has become apparent. The maxima observed for Pb, Cd, and Cu profiles probably indicate the occurence of anoxia crises. A strong complexation of the dissolved Cu species was observed in the waters of the Than Lagoon, which reduced the bioavailability of Cu. The dissolved Cu(2+) concentrations were probably too low to cause direct toxic effects on shellfish, but the highest concentration (5.29 pM) observed in this study can potentially influence phytoplankton communities. A comparison between the Cu speciation data indicates that up to 50% of the complexed Cu determined using CLE-ACSV was DGT labile.

As Memórias de Lacroix: a instrução pública na França revolucionária, em geral, e o ensino de Matemática, em particular

O artigo - um exame hermenêutico do livro Essais sur l'enseignement en général, et sur celui des mathématiques en particulier, de 1805, de Sylvestre-François Lacroix, enfatizando sua segunda parte, na qual o autor discute seu Curso de Matemática Elementar, uma série de manuais escolares elaborados para a Escola Central das Quatro Nações - tem sua fundamentação ligada à Hermenêutica de Profundidade de Thompson conjugada a procedimentos de investigação textual sugeridos por Genette quanto aos paratextos editoriais. Defende que o livro de Lacroix é uma obra auto-referencial, de cunho claramente autobiográfico, que responde mais aos ideais iluministas da França do Setecentos que às perspectivas do século XIX, quando a obra circulou, tendo sido reeditada por quatro vezes, sob Napoleão, na primeira metade do Oitocentos. Raramente focalizado em trabalhos de pesquisa, o livro - cujas edições estão disponíveis eletronicamente - tem uma única tradução, ainda inédita, para o português.

Voyage en Égypte: as representações do antigo Egito na narrativa de Gustave Flaubert durante o imperialismo francês do século XIX

Pós-graduação em História - FCHS

Frenético e melodrama: os vampiros de Polidori e Nodier

Charles Nodier foi um dos grandes responsáveis pela divulgação do romance gótico ou roman noir na França, o qual passou a denominar “frenético”, remetendo ao exagero que caracterizaria esse tipo de literatura. No início do século XIX, no romantismo francês, uma intensa circulação estabelece-se entre o frenético e o melodrama em um intercâmbio de autores, motivos e procedimentos literários. A partir de 1820, o melodrama instala-se no sobrenatural, sobretudo com Le vampire de Nodier, composto em colaboração com Jouffroy e Carmouche; esse melodrama, adaptado do texto de Polidori, The vampire, publicado em 1819, harmoniza-se com o retorno de popularidade por que passa o gothic novel. Essa união do frenético ao melodrama deixa ver duas tendências literárias bastante fecundas no romantismo francês, que se irmanam ainda no sentido em que respondem aos anseios de um público fatigado por séculos de racionalismo e ávido por toda a espécie de sensações e sentimentos.

La Casa Nel Vicolo: um romance de Maria Messina à moda do “feuilleton”

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Paul Flandrin (1811-1902), un nuovo sguardo sul paesaggio dell'Ottocento

Questa ricerca ha l’obiettivo di dare nuovi contributi alla conoscenza della pittura di paesaggio francese nell’Ottocento attraverso lo studio dell’opera di Paul Flandrin (1811-1902). Flandrin si colloca al crocevia di esperienze fondamentali nella ricerca artistica di metà Ottocento: l’eredità di Camille Corot, l’insegnamento di Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres, la pratica del lavoro en plein air, la tradizione del paesaggio neoclassico. Il corpus di opere del pittore lionese Paul Flandrin (1811-1902) ricostruito in questa tesi è frutto di una sistematica operazione di ricerca sul campo e viene in seguito analizzato alla luce dei recenti studi sulla pittura di paesaggio neoclassico in Francia nel XIX secolo. La ricerca si fonda su una grande quantità di materiale inedito: dipinti, disegni, taccuini di studio en plein air, corrispondenza con colleghi e amici. Da questa ricerca la fisionomia artistica di Paul Flandrin emerge ben individuata singolarmente e al tempo stesso ancorata al contesto storico-artistico attraverso le relazioni con i colleghi, l’utilizzo di determinate tecniche, la frequentazione di mete comuni ai paesaggisti suoi contemporanei, la decisa presa di posizione a favore del paesaggio neoclassico.

Men in Black: Fashioning Masculinity in Nineteenth-Century Spain

Clothes offer us a commentary on the individual who wears them, and one of those comments deals with gender. Clothing is fundamental to gender, turning male and female bodies into men and women. In the nineteenth century the preoccupation with appear- ances was greater than in previous periods thanks to changes in the social system and a reformulation of gender roles, as well as the popularity of physiognomic theory. Given this increased sensitivity to the gaze, it is curious that men would uniformly adopt the black suit as their garment of choice. This revolution in male fashion was born from contradic- tory motives. On the one hand, the man in black attempted to avoid the gaze so as not to be anyone’s object of desire. An exception to this rule was the elegante, for whom fashion was a way of life. The elegante became a frequent target of the satirical press, which ques- tioned his masculinity. On the other hand, the black suit came simbolize the power of the ascendant middle class because it recalled Spain’s most important monarchs, such as Carlos V and Felipe II. The black suit thus became a polysemic signifier, and the man who wore it attempted, impossibly, to be both the subject and object of the gaze.

The Power of Tragedy: An Eighteenth-Century Debate on Theater and its Relevance to Literature Pedagogy Today

This article brings to light a debate on tragic fiction in eighteenth-century France, and more specifically, on whether or not tragedy has the power to transform individuals intellectually and emotionally. Through analysis of abbé Dubos’s Reflexions critiques sur la poésie et sur la peinture and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Lettre à d’Alembert sur les spectacles, I contend that Dubos’s overwhelmingly positive conception of fiction—and especially his contention that we learn through the emotions when we engage with tragic fiction—can serve as an admirable pedagogical model for today’s fiction-focused foreign language classrooms.

Early ship-based upper-air data and comparison with the Twentieth Century

Extension of 3-D atmospheric data products back into the past is desirable for a wide range of applications. Historical upper-air data are important in this endeavour, particularly in the maritime regions of the tropics and the southern hemisphere, where observations are extremely sparse. Here we present newly digitized and re-evaluated early ship-based upper-air data from two cruises: (1) kite and registering balloon profiles from onboard the ship SMS Planet on a cruise from Europe around South Africa and across the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific in 1906/1907, and (2) ship-based radiosonde data from onboard the MS Schwabenland on a cruise from Europe across the Atlantic to Antarctica and back in 1938/1939. We describe the data and provide estimations of the errors. We compare the data with a recent reanalysis (the Twentieth Century Reanalysis Project, 20CR, Compo et al., 2011) that provides global 3-D data back to the 19th century based on an assimilation of surface pressure data only (plus monthly mean sea-surface temperatures). In cruise (1), the agreement is generally good, but large temperature differences appear during a period with a strong inversion. In cruise (2), after a subset of the data are corrected, close agreement between observations and 20CR is found for geopotential height (GPH) and temperature notwithstanding a likely cold bias of 20CR at the tropopause level. Results are considerably worse for relative humidity, which was reportedly inaccurately measured. Note that comparing 20CR, which has limited skill in the tropical regions, with measurements from ships in remote regions made under sometimes difficult conditions can be considered a worst case assessment. In view of that fact, the anomaly correlations for temperature of 0.3–0.6 in the lower troposphere in cruise (1) and of 0.5–0.7 for tropospheric temperature and GPH in cruise (2) are considered as promising results. Moreover, they are consistent with the error estimations. The results suggest room for further improvement of data products in remote regions.

The Social Imaginary of Culture/Civilization in the Arabic Literary Tradition

Charles Taylor’s contribution to social imaginaries offers an interpretive framework for better understanding modernity as secularity. One of its main aspects is conceiving of human society in linear, homogenous time (secular time). Looking into the Arabic intellectual tradition, I will argue in my paper that Taylor’s framework can help us understand major social and intellectual transformations. The Ottoman and Arabic modernization process during the 19th century has often been understood by focusing on certain core concepts. One of these is tamaddun, usually translated as “civilization.” I will be mostly talking about the works of two “pioneers” of Arab modernity (which is traditionally referred to as an-nahḍa, the so-called Arab Renaissance): the Syrian Fransīs Marrāsh and the Egyptian Rifāʿa aṭ-Ṭahṭāwī. First I will focus on Marrāsh’s didactic novel “The Forest of Truth” (1865), as it offers a complex view of tamaddun, which has sometimes been construed as merely a social and political reform program. The category of "social imaginary,” however, is useful in grasping the wider semantic scope of this concept, which is reading it as a signifier for human history conceived of in secular time, as Taylor defines it. This conceptualization of human history functioning within the immanent frame can also be observed in the introduction to “The Extraction of Pure Gold in the Description of Paris” (1834), a systematic account of a travel experience in France that was written by the other “pioneer,” aṭ-Ṭahṭāwī. Finally, in translating tamaddun as “the modern social imaginary of civilization/culture,” the talk aims to consider this imaginary as a major factor in the emergence of the “secular age.” Furthermore, it suggests the importance of studying (quasi-) literary texts, such as historiographical, geographical, and self-narratives in the Arabic literary tradition, in order to further elaborate continuities and ruptures in social imaginaries.

Securing one's livelihood. Philanthropy in a mixed economy of welfare in the early 20th century

Since the late 19th century different social actors have played an important role in providing social security in Switzerland. Cooperatives, philanthropic organisations, social insurances, and the poor relief of the communes were all part of a "mixed economy of welfare". This article examines how the different actors in this "mixed economy" worked together, and asks what forms of help they supplied. It raises the question of whether a dichotomy between public and private forms of relief can be traced in the Swiss case. Did democratically legitimised processes of redistribution shape the social security system? Or was social security rather funded by private relief programs? The author argues that in the early 20th century, a complex public-private mix structured the Swiss welfare state and the poor often depended on both public and private funding. In this system, financially potent philanthropic organisations successfully contested the legal power of public actors.

“Crye Fredome”? Medievalism and Twenty-First-Century Scottish National Identity

It is a well-documented fact that the Middle Ages have had a long history of instrumentalisation by nationalisms. 19th-century Eu¬rope in particular witnessed an origins craze during the process of nation-building. In the post-Shoah, post-modern West, on the other hand, we might expect this kind of medievalist master nar¬rative to have been consigned to the dustbin of history. And yet, as nationalism surges again in Europe, negotiations of national identi¬ties in medieval dress seem to have become fashionable once more. In order to come to terms with the fragmented and often contradictory presence of the Middle Ages in these discourses of national identity, I propose we consider medievalism a utilitarian product of the cultural memory. Rather than representing any ‘real’ Middle Ages, then, medievalism tailors available knowledge of the medieval past to the diverse social needs and ideologies of the present. This paper looks at a selection of Scottish examples of present-day medievalism in an attempt to investigate, in particular, the place of the medieval Wars of Scottish Independence in contemporary negotiations of ‘Scottishness’. Both the relationships envisioned between self and other and the role played by ‘the land’ in these cultural, social and political instances of national introspection offer starting points for critical inquiry. Moreover, the analysis of a scholarly intervention in the run-up to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum indicates an intriguing dialogue of academic and non-academic voices in the context of Scottish medievalist cultural memory. We thus find a wide array of uses of the Scottish Middle Ages, some of which feed into the burgeoning nationalism of recent years, while others offer more pensive and ambivalent answers to the question of what it means to be Scottish in the 21st century.

The Role of the European Imperial Powers throughout the Armenian Schism in the 1870s

The Bull "Reversurus" (1867) and its dogmatic legitimization at the First Vatican Council in 1870 caused not only ecclesiastical controversy and Schism in the Armenian Catholic Church, but it had also wide political consequences for the Armenian Catholics in the Ottoman Empire. The conflict originally between the Armenian Catholics and Rome attracted very soon the attention of the European imperial Powers. France, the British Empire, the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and Russia were the main political powers who were involved in the Armenian affair. A full picture of the role of all these powers for the course of the Armenian Schism is missing. Mostly the role of France is foregrounded in the printed sources, as the main power, which supported the papacy to win during the Armenian affair. The role and the motives of the other imperial powers is almost missing. This article will try to describe as completely as possible the historical and political background, which brought to the escalation of the Armenian conflict beyond the national frontiers and led to number of conflicts at the international and transnational level. It will be shown that the imperial policy in Europe in the 19th century have played an enormous role throughout the Armenian Schism. It will be explained that several historical circumstances in Europe, especially the relation of the European imperial powers to each other as well as their expectations from the Ottoman Empire and its Armenian subjects were decisive for the duration and conclusion of the Armenian Schism.

España: evolutionism & religion, Century XIX

From the Englightenment to the middle of the 19th century, geological time and the antiquity of human beings received ever growing attention. This was caused by a series of events, such as: *the beginnings of experimentation in Geology (Buffon, 1778) *the development of the transformism (Lamarck, 1809) *the recognition and description of extinct animals (Cuvier, 1812) *as well as the studies made in alluvial deposits, caves and gravel beds, with brought to light artefacts, human rest and bone of extinguished animals (from John Frere, 1797, to Albert Gaudry, 1859). The development towards evolutionism (Darwin, 1859) came gradually. In Spain, all these currents found their echo: Spain, e.g. was the third country where the Palaeolithic remains were discovered (Verneuil and Lartet, 1863). Also the Darwin ideas were introduced forcefully, right from the beginning. But the change in worldview, which was prerequisite to these ideas, lead to polemic controversies in the political and religious realm. The most significant evidence was the official prohibition of the teaching Darwinism in public educational centres (1875). At theological level, thanks to the advance of the geologic knowledge, went leaving the literal interpretations of Biblical texts was eventually discontinued and replaced by more liberal interpretation. In some case, the process was difficult because some political, religious and scientific authors and researchers didn’t understand the new scientific ideas.

The late Miocene macroflora of the La Cerdaña Basin, Eastern Pirenees, Spain. Towards a Synthesis

The fossil plant-bearing beds of the Tortonian (late Miocene) intramontane basin of La Cerdanya (Eastern Pyrenees, Catalonia, Spain) have been investigated for more than a century, and 165 species from 12 outcrops have been described in previous publications. The sediments with rich plant fossil assemblages, which correspond to lacustrine diatomitic deposits, contain large numbers of plant remains, mainly leaf compressions and impressions. These assemblages are well preserved, a consequence of the rapid accumulation of plant remains in the sediments of the basin's ancient lake, and the often close proximity of its shores to wetland and upland vegetation. This paper provides a comprehensive taxonomic and nomenclatural review of the historic and new collections of late Miocene macroflora for the La Cerdanya Basin. Examination of the newer materials allowed emendments to be made to the diagnoses ofAbies saportana, Acer pyrenakum,Alnus occidentalis, Quercus hispanka and Tilia vidali provided by REROLLE for the basin at the end of the 19th century. In addition, 24 species of vascular plants are identified for the basin for the first time, including one horsetail, three conifers, 19 arboreal or bushy dicotyledonous angiosperms, and one monocotyledonous angiosperm. Indeed, this is the first time that Cedrela helkonia (UNGER) KNOBLOCH, Decodon sp„ Hedera cf multinervis KOLAKOVSKII, Mahonia cf pseudosimplex KVACEK & WALTHER, Smilax cf. aspera L. vm.fossilis and Ulmus cf. plurinervia UNGER have been recorded anywhere in the Iberian Peninsula. The La Cerdanya Basin plant assemblages of the late Miocene mainly consisted of conifers and deciduous broadleaved taxa of Arctotertiary origin; evergreen Palaeotropical elements were less well represented. This flora is similar to those recorded at coeval sites in northern Greece, northern Italy and central and eastern France. Within the Iberian Peninsula, the late Miocene macroflora reported for the nearby Seu d'Urgell Basin is the most similar.