Die Odyssee der Pygmäen. Eine prekäre Figur auf den neuzeitlichen Spieltischen anthropologischer Differenz

Due to the impacts of postcolonialism, social and cultural anthropology has been dealing intensively with the possibilities and limits of representing "other” human beings and their meaningful worlds. Scholars such as George Marcus, James Clifford or Clifford Geertz have discussed ways of improving anthropological methods of representation without, however, fully raising questions about the quality and validity of the objects represented and the very idea, that they could be “represented”. Thus, despite attempts to purify classical anthropological categories, substantialized presences (“Humans”, “Others”, “Pygmies” etc.), various forms of binary oppositions (us–them, culture–nature, human–animal) as well as certain epistemological modes/ logoi (representation, interpretation) have been rehearsed until today. The research aims to dissect and challenge the metaphysical outputs of the “anthropological machine” (Giorgio Agamben). I intended to solve these from their apparent familiarity as representable identities or differences in order to investigate their genealogy. In Derrida’s and Foucault’s understanding, genealogy becomes manifest mainly in the “blind spots” (Derrida) or “anomalies” (Foucault) between differences, at the borders of identities. As an analytical guideline, the research uses on one concrete metonym for the Derridean blind spot, one incorporation of a Foucauldian Other, namely pygmy narratives within early modern and 19th century imaginings. “Pygmies” have been part of both Western mythology and anthropological reflection since the antiquity and finally became “ethnographical facts” within an evolutionary anthropology in the 19th century during the European exploration of Africa. Throughout this veritable Odyssey, they were mostly precarious “category-jammers” (Timothy Beal), occupying the impossible middle grounds within (proto)anthropological classification. Thus, along with the early modern wild men, enfants sauvages or the apes of proto-primatology, the pygmies of the Homeric myth, as a catalyst for the negotiation of categories, played a decisive role in early modern and 19th century conceptions of the human. Through the precarious Pygmies, concrete socio-historical materializations of Identities (human, European), differences (human–animal etc.), as well as the accompanying logoi which vindicate these as pseudo-entities, appear evident. The research aims to read and write the history of early modern and 19th Century anthropology through one of its many classificatory constituting Others. It thus contributes to a discipline that for a long time has examined concrete systems of knowledge and the genealogy of classification in general. One might call it an “anthropologization” of anthropology.

Spiele mit Glauben. Zur Erfassung und Analyse von religiösen Inhalten in Computerspielen

Computerspiele sind ein religionswissenschaftlich relevanter Forschungsgegenstand. Durch ihre weite gesellschaftliche Verbreitung und die häufige Vermittlung religiöser Inhalte sind sie Beispiele der medialen Kommunikation über Religion sowie Agenten der religiösen Sozialisation. Bislang fehlen Methoden, um Computerspiele auf relevante Inhalte und deren Bedeutungen hin zu lesen. Auf der Grundlage der Zeichenlehre von Charles S. Peirce und der Theorie der Spielelemente nach Aki Järvinen wird eine Methode zur Feststellung und Analyse von religiösen Inhalten in Computerspielen vorgestellt und am Beispiel des erfolgreichen Strategiespiels Civilization V: Gods & Kings veranschaulicht. Der Beschreibung und Inhaltsanalyse folgt eine Interpretation in Anlehnung an medienspezifische Theorien und Beobachtungen.

Wetland-Archaeology in the Alpine Space. Overview and actual research issues.

First indications of prehistoric sites in lakes of Switzerland go back more than 200 years and in 1854 Ferdinand Keller (1800-1881) published his famous book The Celtic Pile Dwellings in Swiss Lakes. Since these times, large-scale rescue excavations as well as survey and research projects have extended our knowledge about Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements in lakes, bogs and rivers around the European Alps. In 2011 a representative choice of 111 sites out of nearly 1000 in six countries around the Alps (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland) were recognized by the UNESCO World Heritage committee as serial World Heritage. The lecture will give a general overview on prehistoric lake dwellings around the Alps (distribution, types of lakes/bogs and environment of sites, chronology/cultural units in the time scale 5300 to 800 BC) and present examples of well-documented settlement structures. The intense use of dendrochronological dating allowed the building up of a well-fixed chronological framework. In some cases dendrochronology is the basis for year-by-year reconstructions of prehistoric village biographies and detailed insights in the life cycle of early agrarian settlements. Beside these local events the grouped repartition of lake dwelling remains on the time scale makes a more global correlation between Holocene lake levels and the preservation of archaeological layers likely.

Mapping tree density at a global scale

The global extent and distribution of forest trees is central to our understanding of the terrestrial biosphere. We provide the first spatially continuous map of forest tree density at a global scale. This map reveals that the global number of trees is approximately 3.04 trillion, an order of magnitude higher than the previous estimate. Of these trees, approximately 1.39 trillion exist in tropical and subtropical forests, with 0.74 trillion in boreal regions and 0.61 trillion in temperate regions. Biome-level trends in tree density demonstrate the importance of climate and topography in controlling local tree densities at finer scales, as well as the overwhelming effect of humans across most of the world. Based on our projected tree densities, we estimate that over 15 billion trees are cut down each year, and the global number of trees has fallen by approximately 46% since the start of human civilization.

Alessandro Baricco: A Modern Homer / Alessandro Baricco: Omero Modern

Alessandro Baricco is an Italian author, pianist, journalist and music critic, among a wide range of many other talents. His novels have won great critical acclaim in Italy and France and are popular around the world. While generally considered among the postmodern writers, some critics have accused him of being a forerunner in a 1990s movement dubbed letteratura giovanile, that is juvenile literature that is simplistic, targets a young audience and is created for the sole purpose of making money. This criticism is unwarranted. Baricco is a multitalented author who pays strict attention to the quality of his work and weaves plotlines replete with a diverse set of genres, literary devices and symbolism, often inspired by other great writers and thinkers. However, literary critics have yet to acknowledge one of Baricco's strongest and most important influences: Homer, the ancient Greek bard and author of the epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Taking Baricco's work in a Homeric context can aid in viewing it as valid and important work, worthy of scholarly discussion and interpretation, rather than, as some critics accuse, a one-dimensional story meant only for children. This paper will argue that Baricco's work is Homeric and, in fact, Baricco's implementation of many of Homer's devices, such as his understanding of his audience and use rhythmic language and stereotyped story patterns, has aided Baricco's great success and popularity.

Micro-facies and µXRF element scanning data of Dead Sea sediment cores DSEn and 5017-1

Laminated lake sediments from the Dead Sea basin provide high-resolution records of climatic variability in the eastern Mediterranean region, which is especially sensitive to changing climatic conditions. In this study, we aim on detailed reconstruction of climatic fluctuations and related changes in the frequency of flood and dust deposition events at ca. 3300 and especially at 2800 cal. yr BP from high-resolution sediment records of the Dead Sea basin. A ca. 4-m-thick, mostly varved sediment section from the western margin of the Dead Sea (DSEn - Ein Gedi profile) was analysed and correlated to the new International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project core 5017-1 from the deep basin. To detect even single event layers, we applied a multi-proxy approach of high-resolution microscopic thin section analyses, micro-X-ray fluorescence (µ-XRF) element scanning and magnetic susceptibility measurements, supported by grain size data and palynological analyses. Based on radiocarbon and varve dating, two pronounced dry periods were detected at ~3500-3300 and ~3000-2400 cal. yr BP which are differently expressed in the sediment records. In the shallow-water core (DSEn), the older dry period is characterised by a thick sand deposit, whereas the sedimentological change at 2800 cal. yr BP is less pronounced and characterised mainly by an enhanced frequency of coarse detrital layers interpreted as erosion events. In the 5017-1 deep-basin core, both dry periods are depicted by halite deposits. The onset of the younger dry period coincides with the Homeric Grand Solar Minimum at ca. 2800 cal. yr BP. Our results suggest that during this period, the Dead Sea region experienced an overall dry climate, superimposed by an increased occurrence of flash floods caused by a change in synoptic weather patterns.

Sarmiento o la imperiosa necesidad de la escritura

Se refiere la ubicación temporal de Domingo Faustino Sarmiento en la generación de 1837, llamada también por Ricardo Rojas “generación de los proscriptos". Momento en el que Sarmiento adoptó las célebres categorías de “civilización" y “barbarie". La importancia de la escritura adquirió entonces una decisiva función civilizadora, que en su caso tuvo las características de una imperiosa necesidad proyectada en piezas autobiográficas, folletos, folletines, narraciones, libros, anticipos de novelas, biografías, ensayos, cartas y ejercicios periodísticos. La Argentina tuvo en él al gran polemista que creía en la eficacia de la palabra escrita como praxis social. Dentro de este marco se ubica la significación concedida al periodismo para la formación de los ciudadanos, la responsabilidad de su ejercicio y la ética que le cabe, según se refleja en su artículo “El diarismo", de 1841, aunque a veces ese ejercicio incurriera en los modos que criticaba.

Civilización y barbarie : dos interpretaciones del rol letrado frente al proyecto modernizador en América Latina: Sarmiento y Martí

Se analizan las concepciones de Domingo Faustino Sarmiento y José Martí acerca del rol letrado en el programa modernizador de América Latina durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX. Para ello se adopta como eje la divergente significación de las categorías "civilización/barbarie" en los textos Facundo y Nuestra América. Una nueva lectura de estos textos fundacionales de la historia intelectual latinoamericana permite reconocer aspectos críticos muchas veces olvidados por la reconstrucción del discurso letrado en las actuales corrientes de los estudios latinoamericanos.

Eugenio María de Hostos en el Cono Sur

Abordaremos un tramo del pensamiento de Eugenio María de Hostos correspondiente a su estancia en el Cono Sur, particularmente en Argentina durante su peregrinación por América. Trabajamos sobre la producción periodística comprendida entre los años 1870 y 1873 en diarios de Chile y Argentina. En dichos textos puede apreciarse el desarrollo de dos líneas temáticas convergentes: la primera dedicada al seguimiento de los hechos que se suceden en las Antillas, en particular la lucha de Cuba por su independencia; la segunda comprende una importante cantidad de crónicas y comentarios sobre la vida y el desarrollo sociocultural de los países que visita. Son temáticas convergentes pues ambas están orientadas en el sentido de un proyecto modernizador, tendiente a unir la causa antillana a la causa de la civilización de los pueblos hermanos de América. En esta perspectiva, la modernización impulsada por Hostos adquiere tonalidades y acentuaciones especiales.