Sleepwalking certainties: agency, aesthetics, and incapacity in W.G. Sebald’s 'Austerlitz' and Hermann Broch’s 'The Sleepwalkers'

When we first encounter the narrator of Austerlitz, he is wandering around the unfamiliar town of Antwerp with, he tells us, “unsicheren Schritten” (1; 9). As well as reflecting the unfamiliarity of the locale, these “uncertain steps” evince a proud modesty characteristic of the classic Sebaldian narrator, a wanderer who discreetly relays the stories of the people and places he is privileged to encounter. Although Sebald does not use the phrase, steps of this sort, unpurposed yet unerring, are made with what is commonly known in German as somnambule Sicherheit: the legendary surefootedness of the sleepwalker. The convergence of sleepwalking and certainty in a single phrase poses an interesting challenge to one of the central tenets of the English-language canonization of Sebald, for his writing has been most highly valued for its ability to move the reader through apparent certainties towards a salutary uncertainty. But somnambule Sicherheit also presents the possibility that the current may be reversed, that narrative may move under cover of uncertainty towards certainty. That Sebald criticism has not been more troubled by this possibility is in no small part due to the fact that it tends to deploy the notion of sleepwalking with a minimum of reflection on its theoretical ramifications. To evoke some of the complexities of this matter, I first offer a brief cultural history of sleepwalking, as well as a brief account of the topic of uncertainty in Sebald criticism. Most of my argument, however, involves an extended comparative analysis of sleepwalking in Sebald's Austerlitz and Hermann Broch's 1933 trilogy The Sleepwalkers. Although these writers have not previously been the object of any sustained comparison, sleepwalking in Broch's novels illuminates much that is left implicit on the topic in Sebald's fiction and points toward some difficult questions regarding the role of aesthetics and agency in Sebald's work.

A novel approach to national technological accumulation and absorptive capacity: aggregating Cohen and Levinthal

The paper develops a more precise specification and understanding of the process of national-level knowledge accumulation and absorptive capabilities by applying the reasoning and evidence from the firm-level analysis pioneered by Cohen and Levinthal (1989, 1990). In doing so, we acknowledge that significant cross-border effects due to the role of both inward and outward FDI exist and that assimilation of foreign knowledge is not only confined to catching-up economies but is also carried out by countries at the frontier-sharing phase. We postulate a non-linear relationship between national absorptive capacity and the technological gap, due to the effects of the cumulative nature of the learning process and the increase in complexity of external knowledge as the country approaches the technological frontier. We argue that national absorptive capacity and the accumulation of knowledge stock are simultaneously determined. This implies that different phases of technological development require different strategies. During the catching-up phase, knowledge accumulation occurs predominately through the absorption of trade and/or inward FDI-related R&D spillovers. At the pre-frontier-sharing phase onwards, increases in the knowledge base occur largely through independent knowledge creation and actively accessing foreign-located technological spillovers, inter alia through outward FDI-related R&D, joint ventures and strategic alliances.

Aesthetical and narrative uses of the trench in the Hollywood cinema of 1918-1930

Throughout history of painting, the representation of landscape has been considered a laboratory for the human gaze on the world. The First World War and its new approach to the battlefield altered deeply the classical forms of representation, and replaced them with a mechanised and fragmentary vision, which was related with the development of photography and cinema. As Vicente J. Benet has analysed, Hollywod cinema used these deep changes in its filmic versions of the conflict, although it organised them following a narrative logic. In this text we intend to study how the battlefield and, particularly, the trench, are inserted in this logic of the history of landscape painting. We do so through some Hollywood films from the period 1918-1930. Firstly, we approach the trench as a composition value which can structure the image and guide the camera movement. In the second place, we study how it creates a dialog between its inside, melodrama scenery, and the outside, battlefield and danger. In both cases, we conclude that the trench as a form and as a narrative element plays a structuring and integrative role with the storytelling logic.

The identity of Mygale brunnipes CL Koch 1842 (Araneae, Theraphosidae), with a redescription of the species and the description of a new genus

We describe Kochiana new genus to accommodate a small Brazilian theraphosine species described originally as Mygale brunnipes by Koch (1842), resulting in Kochiana brunnipes new combination. Recently, specimens were rediscovered in northeastern Brazilian Atlantic rainforest. A preliminary cladistic analysis using equal weights parsimony and implied weights, was carried out to examine its phylogenetic placement. Kochiana new genus was monophyletic in all trees regardless of weighting scheme or concavity used. There is preliminary evidence for Kochiana new genus monophyly and weak evidence for its placement as sister group of Plesiopelma. Kochiana new genus can be characterized by the presence of a hornshaped spermatheca in females and males with a palpal bulb having prolateral accessory keels and a well developed medial crest on the embolus apex.

Occurrence and characterization of injuries caused by Mycotretus apicalis Lacordaire, 1842 (Coleoptera: Erotylidae) on cultivation of Pleurotus sajor-caju

When carrying out experiments on the production of the edible mushroom Pleurotus sajor-caju in the Laboratory of Edible Mushrooms, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, Brazil, in the second half of 2007, the presence of beetles later identified as belonging to the species Mycotretus apicalis was verified. This is the first recorded instance of this insect in cultures of P. sajor-caju in Brazil. The larvae and adults of this insect feed on the fruiting bodies of commercial harvests, resulting in reduction in mushroom quality. To provide evaluation of the injuries caused by these insects, substrates colonized by P. sajor-caju were infested with 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 insects per block of substrate being the qualitative and quantitative losses then noted. Despite the lack of an observed decrease in biological efficiency, the injuries caused by these insects affected the commercial quality of the mushrooms, which may result in economic losses. The results showed that infestations of 32 insects per 0.8 kg of substrate led to a depreciation in the prices of mushrooms meant to be sold.

Description of two new species of Avicularia Lamarck 1818 and redescription of Avicularia diversipes (C. L. Koch 1842) (Araneae, Theraphosidae, Aviculariinae)-three possibly threatened Brazilian species

Avicularia diversipes (C. L. Koch 1842) known previously only from its original description is redescribed along with Avicularia sooretama sp. nov. and Avicularia gamba sp. nov. The three species are endemic to Brazilian Atlantic rainforest. With other Avicularia species, they share a procurved anterior eye row, slender embolus and medially folded spermathecae, whereas they have unusual characters, such as a very long and spiraled embolus (A. diversipes) and spermathecae with multilobular apex (A. sooretama sp. nov.). Furthermore, the three species lack a tibial apophysis in males and share a distinctive color pattern ontogeny that is not known in any other Avicularia species. The conservation status of the three species is discussed, especially with respect to endemism, illegal trafficking and habitat destruction. The creation of protected areas in southern State of Bahia, Brazil, is recommended, as well as the inclusion of these species in IUCN and CITES lists. Appendices with figures and species information are presented to facilitate correct specimen identification by custom officers, in order to limit illegal traffic.

Spanska sjukan inom Nås provinsialläkaredistrikt 1918 - 1919 med särskild hänsyn tagen till Dala-Järna och Vansbro

Denna uppsats har till syfte att få en överblick av hälsoläget inom Nås provinsialläkaredistrikt under hösten 1918 och våren 1919, då spanska sjukan grasserade. Uppsatsen undersöker vilken belastning spanska sjukan blev för epidemisjukvården och hur kommunen sörjde för den under epidemin. Mortaliteten under spanska sjukan visade ett liknande mönster som i andra delar av världen där ett stort antal unga människor avled. I undersökningen belyses även könstillhörigheten samt yrkeskategorisering av de döda. Under epidemins inledning var männen i majoritet men senare under epidemin blir det flest kvinnor, som avled i sviterna av spanskan. Mortalitetens yrkeskategorisering visar en klar majoritet för kroppsarbetare av olika slag samt hustrur till hemmansägare eller skogsarbetare och industriarbetare. Dödligheten var störst inom Vansbro municipalsamhälle under epidemin, beroende på att järnvägen och många resande passerade där. Pressens rapportering visar att Vansbro / Dala – Järna drabbades hårt av spanska sjukan.Som källmaterial användes provincialläkarrapporter från medicinalstyrelsens arkiv, kommunalnämndens och hälsovårdsnämndens protokoll, dödböcker och tidningartiklar ur tre lokala dagstidningar.

Spanska sjukan på Kungliga Gotlands infanteriregemente 1918-1920

Uppsatsens syfte har varit att undersöka hur Kungliga Gotlands infanteriregemente drabbades av spanska sjukan under 1918-1920. Det har även jämförts hur detta regemente drabba¬des i jämförelse med Dalarnas och Västmanlands regementen under 1918. Frågeställning¬arna som besvarats handlar om hur många som insjuknade och dog, hur regementets ansva¬riga agerade samt vilka åtgärder som vidtogs när epidemin hade nått regementet. Det huvudsakliga materialet jag har använt mig av är förste provinsialläkarens årsberättelser och regementets inkomna och utgående skrivelser. Studiens resultat visar att Kungliga Gotlands infanteriregemente med sina cirka 500 sjuk¬domsfall och fyra dödsfall under epidemins första period, 1918 drabbades i hög grad i jämfö¬relse med Dalregementet, men i liten grad i jämförelse med Västmanlands rege¬mente. Anledningen till att regementet på Gotland klarade sig relativt lindrigt från spanska sjukan kan bero på att en fungerande sjukvård snabbt kunde sättas in samt att man vidtog andra åt¬gärder såsom inskränkningar på permissioner, striktare personlig hygien och renlighet i loka¬lerna samt skyddsympning.

Spanskt sjuk på ett sjukhus i Sverige : Spanska sjukans utbrott på Säters hospital hösten 1918

Spanska sjukan var en världsomfattande epidemi, en pandemi, som drog över världen i flera influensavågor mellan 1918-1920. Syftet har varit att ta reda på hur Säters hospital drabbades av och hanterade influensautbrottet 1918. Med hjälp av överläkarens årsberättelse för 1918 har jag lyckats få fram att 40,7 % av alla patienter blev smittade av spanska sjukan varav 15,3 % av dem avled till följd av sjukdomen. 529 personer smittades av spanska sjukan på Säters sjukhusområde varav 57 personer avled, vilket motsvarar 10,8 %. Av de 529 smittade männen och kvinnorna avled 12,6 % kvinnor (34 stycken) och 8,9 % män (23 stycken) till följd av in-fluensan. Överläkaren beskrev i årsberättelsen att Säters hospital klarade sig förhållandevis bra, tack var det paviljongsystemet som möjliggjorde att influensan kunde isoleras.

1945 - A new order of centuries? : Hannah Arendt and Hermann Broch’s “The Death of Virgil”

Sociologisk Forsknings digitala arkiv

Tatler a la Guerre (Volume 16 1918)

The Winthrop yearbook was published from 1898 to 2002. It has been known as the Tatler since its inception except for 1904 (Lang Syne) and 1918 (Tatler a la Guerre). No yearbook was published in 1900, 1902, 1903, 1905,1906.