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Seasonal awareness a traditional way of life

By Guest PostFebruary 8, 2014Cultureannual cycle, Britain, candlemas eve, church, ecology, english rural traditions, februus, latin februa, pagan god, professor nick groom, seasonal awareness, traditional, underworld, university of exeter, way of life

A celebration of the traditional connections between human lives, the seasons and the natural world form the basis of a new book by University of Exeter academic, Professor Nick Groom.

The book, called ‘The Seasons: An Elegy for the Passing of the Year’, is an urgent plea for English rural traditions not to be forgotten, and investigates not only how society is becoming cut off from the rhythms of the natural world, but also the ways in which the annual cycle has been celebrated for centuries. (more…)

A world of art at the Watson Institute

By Guest PostFebruary 5, 2014Culture, Scienceabbott tom gleason, art at watson, Bangladesh, banglatie, childhood in india, democracy, democracy in india, dual degree program, egypt, end of year project, freedom, garment factory, garment industry, global trade, industrial revolution era, internship in bangladesh, knit garment, korea, midnights children, modern technology, richard locke, salman rushdie, start of industrialization, talk about textiles, third world countries, watson institute, world of art, youbin kang

As a student in the Brown/RISD Dual Degree Program, senior Youbin Kang uses textiles to bring attention to global issues. Her work hangs in the Watson Institute as part of a new initiative to showcase art by students, faculty, and staff.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Banglatie, a knit garment made by senior Youbin Kang, hangs on a wall of the Watson Institute, its form loosely resembling the shape of a person, with arms, legs, and feet dangling from the nails that hold it in place. (more…)

Study finds link between discrimination and suicide attempts among transgender people

By Guest PostJanuary 30, 2014Culture, Generalann haas, anti transgender discrimination, attempting suicide, between, discrimination, hiv-positive, jody herman, link, peter j cooper, philip rodgers, risk, suicide attempts, ted eytan, transgender equality, transgender people, transgender research, victimization, violence

An analysis conducted by UCLA’s Jody Herman and collaborators at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has found that transgender people who experienced rejection by family and friends, discrimination, victimization, or violence have a higher risk for attempting suicide.

Examining data from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, the researchers found that 78 percent of respondents who suffered physical or sexual violence at school reported suicide attempts, as did 65 percent of respondents who experienced violence at work. (more…)

Vampires & Shades of Grey: How Media Shapes Who We Are

By Guest PostJanuary 29, 2014Culture, Mediaabstinence porn, carrie bradshaw, city, clair huxtable, desperate housewives, dexter, empowering, franchise, homer simpson, hope jensen schau, internet era, jake schreiber, Media, sex, shades of grey, social force, Technology, the cosby show, twilight, twilight fan fiction, university of arizona, vampires, warrior princess, xena

Don’t think media shapes how you behave? Think again, says Hope Schau, a UA associate professor of marketing.

Are you a Homer Simpson or a Dexter? How about a Clair Huxtable or a Carrie Bradshaw? Chances are you don’t think of yourself as a doughnut-loving oaf, a brilliant serial killer, an unflappable power-mom/lawyer nor a lovelorn fashionista.

But when you watch these characters on television, your brain is doing something you may not even realize, says University of Arizona associate professor of marketing Hope Jensen Schau: figuring out who you are. (more…)

Cohabitation Plays ‘Major Role’ in Number of Long-Term Relationships

By Guest PostJanuary 28, 2014Culture, Science18 year old, audrey light, cohabitation, forming a relationship, jeff grabmeier, long term relationships, major role, marriage, ohio state university, potential means, woman, yoshiaki omori

Large numbers of cohabiters leave their mark, study finds

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new national study provides surprising evidence of how cohabitation contributes to the number of long-term relationships lasting eight years or longer.

It is well-known that couples who live together are much more likely to end their relationships within a short-term period than are married couples. (more…)

Scandalous bodies and our relationship with food

By Guest PostJanuary 21, 2014Culture, Healthalcohol consumption, attitude, body shape, corinna wagner, extravagant lifestyle, georgian period, goddesses of health, government, honest british, king george, late georgian england, medicine, mid victorian period, model, modern day phenomenon, monarchy, mulligatawny soup, obesity, over indulgence, pathological bodies, persian delicacies, physical perfection, political culture, self control, self discipline, the english malady, thomas king chambers, university of exeter, victorian, vitriolic public condemnation

Attitudes toward over-indulgence, obesity and body shape were being hotly debated and used for political purposes as early as the 19^th century, a new book claims. ‘Pathological Bodies’, by Dr Corinna Wagner from the University of Exeter, shows that body consciousness is not just a modern-day phenomenon.

Instead, medical warning about excessive eating and drinking, and public attitudes about self-control and discipline emerged more than 250 years ago, when the perceived decadence of the Georgian period gave way to the more moderate and austere approach adopted by the Victorians. (more…)

Facebook memes can evolve like genes

By Guest PostJanuary 18, 2014Culture, Technologybehavior, biological genes, data science team, evolution, evolutionary biologist, evolve like genes, eytan adar, facebook meme, genetic information, idea, jabba the hutt, lada adamic, meme reproduction, mutation, petri dish, richard dawkins, self described liberals, share button, social network, star wars, thousands of variations, university of michigan, villain, viral internet content

ANN ARBOR — What started as a politically liberal Facebook meme in support of health care reform morphed as it spread across the social network into hundreds of thousands of variations—some just a few words from the original, but others centered on taxes, beer, or Star Wars’ villain Jabba the Hutt.

The twists on the original text over time in many ways mirrored the evolution of biological genes, researchers from the University of Michigan and Facebook have found. (more…)

Klimt-Sonderführungen an der Universität Wien

By Guest PostJanuary 16, 2014Culturedas bild, fakultaetsbilder, festsaal, franz matsch, gustav klimt, schloss immendorf, symbolistisches hauptwerk, theologie, universitaet wien

Die Universität Wien bietet im Februar wieder Führungen zu Historie und Diskurs rund um die so genannten “Fakultätsbilder” von Gustav Klimt an. Klimt hatte in den 1890er Jahren gemeinsam mit Franz Matsch den Auftrag erhalten, den Großen Festsaal der Universität Wien mit Deckengemälden auszustatten. Diese Gemälde riefen einen Sturm der Entrüstung hervor und wurden durch den Künstler letztlich zurückgekauft. 1945 verbrannten sie in Schloss Immendorf.

Inhalt der Führungen sind die Entstehungsgeschichte der “Fakultätsbilder” sowie die vielschichtigen Diskussionen, die rund um diese Gemälde stattfanden. Den BesucherInnen werden die im Jahr 2005 an der Decke angebrachten Reproduktionen im Festsaal gezeigt und sie erhalten einen Reader mit zeitgenössischen Texten. (more…)

Category Archives: Culture