Reinterpreting Coatlicue : the Sculptural Narrative of Defeat at the Shrine of Huitzilopochtli

"Images of the decapitated, dismembered female warrior Coyolxauhqui, a main character in the Mexica mythology of Huitzilopochtli, figured prominently in Imperial Mexica sculptural campaigns at the Templo Mayor. However, monoliths of a terrifying, dismembered female from the shrine have traditionally been identified as Huitzilopochtli’s nurturing mother Coatlicue, or permutations of goddesses. Such studies do not adequately address why these sculptures depict mutilated beings whose characteristics are antithetical to Coatlicue’s appropriate female behavior depicted in myths and images"

Dificultades en la traducción de al-Farāfīr de Yūsuf Idrīs

En este artículo hablamos en primer lugar de la obra teatral al-Farāfīr de Yūsuf Idrīs. Abordamos las dificultades de la traducción del árabe dialectal egipcio al castellano. Nos hemos acercado al término al-Farāfīr desde un punto de vista lingüístico y pragmático. Exponemos la dificultad de la traducción literaria entre dos lenguas pertenecientes a ámbitos socio-culturales muy diferentes.

College Book 7, 1750-1778

This volume contains a fair copy of minutes from Corporation meetings held from Sept. 17, 1750 through April 23, 1778. It begins with an alphabetical index and contains entries related to a wide range of topics, including the challenges of operating the Charlestown ferry (due to the river freezing, fear of smallpox, and other issues); increases in "pecuniary mulcts" (fines) for breaches of specific College laws; the establishment of the Dudleian lecture; the selection and financial support of missionaries to various Indian tribes; honorary degrees awarded to Benjamin Franklin and George Washington; gifts to the library as it was rebuilt in the wake of the fire of 1764 (many entries provide the title and author of books donated); the management of land and property belonging to Harvard; Treasurers' reports and other financial accounts; changes in the College laws; gifts to the College, ranging from two Egyptian mummies to a solar microscope; the construction of the First Parish Meeting House in Cambridge and the use of adjacent College property by parishoners; rules of endowed professorships; salaries and appointments; closures due to the threat of smallpox; rules governing Commons and the College Library; reports of various Visiting Committees; class schedules, according to subject; student disorders; the establishment of a designated museum space to display "Curiosities"; the effects of the Revolutionary War on Harvard, including repeated requests to the General Court after the war for compensation for damage to College buildings; the cost of various foods and changes in what was served at Commons; and the danger of the chapel's roof, built of too-heavy slate, falling in. Also of interest are minutes from a May 5, 1761 meeting, which note that the General Court voted to pay for Hollis Professor John Winthrop to travel to Newfoundland to observe the transit of Venus "over the Suns disc."

Student mathematical notebook of William Tudor, 1795

Notebook containing the handwritten mathematical exercises of William Tudor, kept in 1795 while he was an undergraduate at Harvard College. The volume contains rules, definitions, problems, drawings, and tables on geometry, trigonometry, surveying, calculating distances, sailing, and dialing. Some of the exercises are illustrated with hand-drawn diagrams. The Menusration of Heights and Distances section contains color drawings of buildings and trees, and some have been altered with notes in different hands and with humorous additions. For instance, a drawing of a tower was drawn into a figure titled “Egyptian Mummy.” Some of the images are identified: “A rude sketch of the Middlesex canal,” Genl Warren’s monument on Bunker Hill,” “Noddles Island,” “the fields of Elysium,” and the “Roxbury Canal.” The annotations and additional drawings are unattributed.

Hādhihi al-safīnah al-mubārakah : manuscript, 1821

Title from colophon.

Literaturas do Próximo Oriente Antigo na Bíblia: origens, aliança e sabedoria

Este trabalho tem como objetivo o estudo comparativo e situacional entre alguns temas e livros bíblicos e temas semelhantes tratados pelas literaturas do Próximo Oriente Antigo, nomeadamente as sumérias, acádicas, ugaríticas e egípcias. Os mitos de origem são o tema do primeiro capítulo, sendo tratados, de seguida, temas como a aliança entre Yahweh e o povo de Israel, tal como é descrita nos livros do Êxodo e Deuteronómio e a respetiva comparação com os tratados de vassalagem hititas. A finalizar, é abordada a grande área da literatura sapiencial e a sua base humanista em todas as literaturas em apreço.

As deusas Inanna e Ištar: semânticas de poder com traços de amor e guerra

A presente dissertação de mestrado centra-se na divindade suméria Inanna e na sua homóloga semita Ištar. Recolhemos e analisamos conjuntos de mitos, narrativas, hinos, oráculos, canções e orações, de proveniências e cronologias distintas, para compor um retrato cuja complexidade ultrapassa as questões do género e apela a sentimentos transversais ao ser humano. Num panteão com uma miríade de divindades altamente especializadas, Inanna/Ištar destaca-se pelo facto de acumular funções. Deusa trifuncional, regente do Amor e da Guerra, era igualmente a representação divina do planeta Vénus. Numa primeira abordagem, essa singularidade é um factor desconcertante para a sua compreensão. Pelo seu carácter problemático, foi o principal incentivo para o nosso estudo. Examinando as suas diferentes manifestações, propomos um eixo comum para a sua aparente ambivalência, interpretando o amor e a guerra como metáforas com um mesmo significado: poder. Vemos assim como a guerreira e a noiva se complementam em vez de se contradizerem. Ao lado do rei, no leito sagrado ou no campo de batalha, exprimem sempre a bênção divina assegurando a legitimidade dos seus actos enquanto representante dos deuses na Terra e, por conseguinte, garante da ordem. A permanência no tempo do sistema de crenças originalmente fixado por mão suméria, resistindo a conquistas e mudanças dinásticas, e a sua difusão no espaço, transpondo fronteiras naturais e artificiais, demonstram que os povos do Crescente Fértil o partilharam, não obstante algumas alterações semânticas. Na perspectiva da história das religiões, este olhar projetado sobre o passado permite ainda entender melhor a mente do homem mesopotâmico e acompanhar as consequências das alterações culturais no tecido sociopolítico da época. Afloramos também alguns aspectos de continuidade, manifestados através da presença de influências mesopotâmicas na literatura e religião gregas, mais especificamente em Afrodite e Deméter, deusas do amor e da fertilidade, respectivamente. Por fim, sugerimos a permanência de categorias mentais que transportam o passado até aos dias de hoje, ligando a Antiguidade à Actualidade.

DEMOCRACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN NORTH AFRICA AFTER THE ARAB AWAKENING: CHALLENGES FOR EU AND US FOREIGN POLICY (EUSPRING). Arab Citizenship Review No. 6, October 2014. EGYPT. The Return to Authoritarianism and the Crisis of Citizenship Rights

Citizenship and democratic rights have been shrinking in Egypt with the rise of president Abd El Fattah El Sisi, widely popular among Egyptians who fear more violence and unrest in an increasingly volatile region. In this EU Spring Policy Brief, Moataz El Fegiery examines the political landscape in the run-up of parliamentary elections, arguing that the short term is likely to see further curtailment of acquired rights, further crackdown on the opposition and consolidation of military power. In the longer term, however, it is in the interest of Egyptian society and institutions as well as of Europe to reverse the politics of exclusion and ensure that freedoms, pluralism and participation prevent the rise of extremism and political violence.

The roots of economic challenges facing Egypt in the aftermath of the 25th January revolution. Jean Monnet Occasional Paper No. 9/2014

Introduction. Since the 25th of January 2011 revolution the Egyptian economy has been suffering on all fronts. Almost all the economic indicators have been pointing towards a deteriorating situation, and in many cases have reached the trough. Yet, the economy is still surviving. This is mainly due to the unprecedented support of some of Arab Gulf countries, whose unconditional aid has helped to mitigate the deteriorating economic conditions. The economic challenges facing Egypt have been exacerbated after the 20th of January revolution mainly because of the deteriorating political and security conditions which have interrupted the functioning of the economy. Yet, this is not to say that revolution has caused these challenges. In fact, the challenges that the Egyptian has been facing have deep roots in its socio-political-economic context, which this paper aims to explain. The revolution and its aftermath have brought to the forefront challenges which have always been mitigated by short-term solutions that never dealt seriously with their roots. Moreover, the revolution has brought additional problems associated with the macroeconomic imbalances. As a result, the challenges became more complex especially in light of the need to balance the social and economic aspects. The paper proceeds as follows; in section one we pinpoint the main challenges faced by Egypt where we identify the symptoms and causes of such challenges. In section two we discuss the roots of such challenges. Finally, we conclude and provide our understanding of how Egypt is expected to face its challenges in the near future.

Egypt: Changes and Challenges of Political Transition. MEDPRO Technical Report No. 4/May 2011

Hosni Mubarak’s regime and its power system enjoyed remarkable stability for over 30 years. On 11 February 2011, after 18 days of mass protests, the Egyptian president was forced to step down, revealing the unsustainability of the political and economic system that had ensured his continuity for so long. While the revolution of January 25th led to a major success – the fall of Hosni Mubarak – Egypt’s political future is still opaque and exposed to a number of risks. This paper first highlights the factors underpinning the former stability of Mubarak’s regime; it then assesses the causes of its underlying unsustainability, leading to the anti-government popular mobilisation in January-February 2011 and the removal of Mubarak; finally the paper evaluates the prospects for a genuine democratic transition in Egypt, by looking at the main political and socio-economic challenges facing the country.

Flashlight Europe N°2–February 2015. “Europe must now get involved in a very big way”

More than three years after al-Gaddafi was overthrown, Libya has still not returned to some semblance of normality. In many places, the Libyan state exists only on paper. No less than two governments and dozens of rival tribes, all with their own militias and armed to the teeth, are trying to come to power. In the midst of this chaos “IS,” the terrorist organization, has now entered the fray. Evidence of this is provided by the brutal murder of 21 Egyptian Copts, which could trigger off a civil war that will pose a threat to the entire region and to Europe. Mirco Keilberth, an expert on Libya, explains what is going on.

(Table 1, page 24), Geochemical cmposition of nodules and crust from the Indain Ocean recovered from R/V Marion Dufresne expeditions

Mineralogical analysis of manganese nodules and crusts collected from Indian ocean aboard Marion Dufresne points to a depth and regional control upon the manganese oxide association: vernadite - birnessite and vernadite - todorokite. Moreover, progressive changes in the vernadite/birnessite ratio as a function of time is clearly seen. Magnetite and titano-magnetite in quantities similar to those of framboidal pyrite in manganese nodules are outlined for the first time. Study of the distribution of metals (Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Co) shows a strong latitudinal and regional dependence that may be connected to high productivity zones and to bottom water properties. The problem of mineralogical control on the chemical composition is approached. Finally, it results that any interpretations taking into account all these data haveway to give to the variability of sea-water properties (pH, oxygenation, motions) the prominent control upon manganese nodules composition.