Posthuman identity and the human–animal divide in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s The Hawks and the Sparrows and Pigsty

In this article, Ferrara puts forward the first analysis of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s films The Hawks and the Sparrows (1966) and Pigsty (1969) through the lens of posthumanist theory. She contends that by placing animal characters (raven and pigs) in close interaction with humans, Pasolini encouraged viewers to explore and overcome the human–animal divide. In doing so, he aimed to expose the faulty binary premises of Marxist ideology and construct a posthumanist identity that recognized the illusory separation between body and mind, and between the human and its related others. Drawing on concepts such as Marchesini’s ‘mimesis’, Cronin’s ‘tradosphere’, Nancy’s ‘co-ontology’ and Braidotti’s ‘becoming animal’, this article shows how Pasolini considers an exit from anthropocentrism and human exceptionalism via trans-species solidarity. Eventually, in Pigsty, animality turns into a metaphor for all alterity. As humans are silenced by pigs, a new powerful language of ‘otherness’ gives birth to the posthuman human.

Marketing Class Consciousness in A Passage to India: A Marxist Analysis

The present paper is aimed to analyze the novel A Passage to India from the Marxist perspective. For the analysis, the major theoretical insights have been taken from Marxist critics including Luckas (1968) and Antonio Gramci (1988). The analysis is thematic in nature. Generally, we see that Marxist criticism takes in consideration that the capitalist society is divided into haves and haves not. Lucaks (1968) considers that Marxist ideology can be extended from mere class conflicts to the class and caste system, gender, and race also. Therefore, this analysis has been extended from the simple Marxist category of class conflicts to the exploitation of the underdeveloped and developed, colonizer and the colonized, religion as well. Gramscian model Marxist criticism considers ideology as superstructure and state apparatuses as discursive tools of exploitation. In relation to Marxist critique, we see that the relationship of both bourgeoisie and proletariat classes is parallel to the colonizer and colonized in imperialist conditions. At present Marxist criticism also includes slavery as an outcome of socio and economic un-equality. Marxist criticism counts religion as a marker of raising class consciousness. It has been found in the study that the English people and administrative were the men of resources in India. The English had exploited the Indians on account of being without resources. In the conclusion, A Passage to India as a piece of literature represents the ideological and class-based relations based on economic relations. Keywords: Marxist ideology, Class Conflict, Class Consciousness, Religion and Race

Dialectic in the Hands of a Handwerker: Joseph Dietzgen and the Humble Beginnings of Dialectical Materialism

Engels once remarked to Marx that the “materialist dialectic, which for years has been our best working tool and our sharpest weapon, was, remarkably enough, discovered not only by us but also, independently of us and even of Hegel, by a German worker, Joseph Dietzgen.” The status of the dialectic, however, within what ought to instead be described as Dietzgen's inductive empiricism, is problematic. Dietzgen's work stands as a hitherto unacknowledged precursor to the Marxist ideology of Diamat. The first question is whether or not Marx's materialism ought to be conflated with Dietzgen's empiricism. Second, Dietzgen's efforts to establish a theory of human thought structured through the methods of the natural sciences requires critical evaluation. Although Dietzgen's works may anticipate some of the theoretical contours of Diamat, equating materialism with empiricism and rendering the dialectical method into a universal methodology on a par with the methods of the natural sciences, as pursued by Dietzgen, is a project that is perhaps not worthy of Marx's and Engels’ nominal veneration.

Rome

This chapter takes a look at the Second World War's aftermath and its profound and enduring implications for interreligious dialogue. It recounts the establishment of The World Council of Churches in 1948 to help rebuild society and promote Christian ecumenism, later turning to interreligious dialogue. The chapter also examines how the war accelerated processes of decolonization, beginning with India's independence in 1947 and soon spreading to other countries in South Asia and Africa. It then discusses the global spread of Marxist ideology and the specter of civilizational annihilation wrought by the Cold War. Ultimately, the chapter reveals that, for the first time in conciliar history, the church exhorted its members to enter into “dialogue and collaboration” with members of other religious traditions. It investigates how the conciliar documents and papal encyclicals appearing during the council affected the church and the wider world in the postconciliar (and postcolonial) era.

Modernization of Beauty in China

The article explores the socio-political and historical development of the great debate on aesthetics and the aesthetic fever in China during the 20th century. It introduces the main figures of the aesthetic movement and their aesthetic theories. It introduces the period of appropriation of the aesthetic debates to Marxist ideology that prevailed in China after 1949 and lasted until the end of 1970s. The 1980s and 1990s represent a shift in the Chinese aesthetic debate which focused on the adoption of Western aesthetic concepts and paradigms in a more scientific way. The article tackles the problem of Chinese society on the verge of the millennium, and problematizes the consumerism of art and attitudes towards aesthetics in general.

The Theme of Love in Russian Philosophical Utopias of the 1920s and 1930s (Andrei Platonov and Stepan Kalachov)

The article discusses the role of feelings in shaping the society of the future using two concepts created in the 1920s and 1930s in Russia. These are the projects of Andrei Platonov and Stepan Kalachov, which can be attributed to the philosophy of love. The concepts reflect the features of the post-revolutionary era and are linked to the transformation of the period. Despite some similarities between the projects, each has its own characteristics. Platonov's conception is characterized by a transformation we witness at the end of the 1930s, which was connected with the change of the philosopher's attitude to the development of society and the relationship between the sexes, and was due to the construction of communism in the country and the methods used for this purpose. There is no such change in the utopia of Kalachov's eroica, and the basic precepts laid down in the 1920s continue to evolve further into the concept of life wisdom. The first period in Platonov's work is connected with the ideas of technocracy and asceticism in the relationship between the sexes. In this regard, the sensual aspect is suppressed and destroyed as an impediment to the grand transformation of society; hence the new techniques of destroying sexual instinct, preaching chastity. In the society to be created, the mind suppresses feelings, which determines the attitude to the woman and the feminine that become of secondary importance. Gradually, the philosopher becomes disillusioned with the ongoing transformations of the Bolsheviks, and his attitude towards women and feelings changes. Kalachov's eroica conception refers to erotic utopia and represents the synthesis of eroticism and heroics of the era. Kalachov reveals the sensual and bodily aspect of the society of the future. He has the ideas of technocracy, which relates him to Platonov's conception. However, Kalachov does not abandon feelings in the new society, and the theme of love is central to him. Some features of the conception echo the views of some members of the Marxist ideology (Alexandra Kollontai), but generally do not reflect the views of the official authorities. Both projects reflect the characteristics of the era that created them, offer a solution to the problem of gender relations, and reveal the importance of love in society. Love in these projects is a transformative beginning that can change the human being and society, and lead the world to universal harmony. However, in the context of the communist project, in which the spirit of freedom of the first post-revolutionary years was destroyed, they could not be realized and remained utopias.

Research on the Current Situation and Countermeasures of the ‘Marginalization’ of Marxist Ideology in Colleges and Universities

With the in-depth development of reform and opening-up and the explosive development of the Internet, the ideology and values of western capitalism have poured into colleges and universities. College students, as the most active group in the Internet, have been affected by the impact of different values and ideologies, and their identification with Marxist ideology is weakening, which makes the Marxist ideology in Colleges and universities face the risk of “Marginalization”.

Women’s Employment Support Activities By Labor Offices Under the “AZ” Program in Years 1947-1950

The paper deals with mechanisms used for reducing unemployment among women in Poland after the World War II, the so-called “women productivisation.” I discussed women’s attitude to employment and the state’s standpoint as far as the problem of women’s unemployment is concerned, and analyzed women’s unemployment figures in the introductory part. Employment policy in the early days of the Polish People’s Republic was a combination of many factors, among which the most important were ideology, pre-war tradition, and war-related experiences. Women found employment in the industry since the beginning of industrialization of the Polish lands in 19th century. In the interwar period and the early days of the Polish People’s Republic, employment increased mainly out of economic reasons (necessity to support family and oneself). It was in keeping with the Marxist ideology in place after the World War II. The “new woman” was to be free from capitalist exploitation and on par with a man in terms of professional career. The role model of the woman was in particular a female-worker employed in industry. After the war, in 1940s, the number of women registered at labor offices was rising. According to labor offices’ figures, the number of job offers for women was insufficient or these were unattractive. Hence, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy (Ministerstwo Pracy i Opieki Społecznej) conceived the idea of developing short-term training for women and employing them in the cottage industry - action “AZ”. It lasted from 1947 to 1950; it was evolved due to changing regulations. Undoubtedly, the action “AZ” contributed to the development of “female” cooperatives, but with time it was considered as ineffective and its scope was limited. My fundamental goal was to discuss the ‘AZ’ program, including its course, scope, and scale, as well as its evaluation. The subject matter in question has not been discussed in detail to date but only briefly addressed in the literature listed below.

The Cossacks Chronicles of Eyewitness, H. Hrabianka’s and S. Velychko’s in studies in Soviet historiography

The purpose of the article is to analyze the Cossack chronicles of Samovydets, H. Hrabianka’s, and S. Velychko’s in historical research during 1917–1991. Research methods: comparative, system-structural, historical-typological, historical-genetiс. The problem of studying Ukrainian chronicles of the XVI–XVIII centuries of the Soviet historiography has been studied relatively little. In most cases, the chronicles of military chancellerists are considered in the general context of study of the chronicles, and the chronology of historiographic reviews is limited to the mid-1960s. Main results. The article deals with the works of Soviet researchers who studied the phenomenon of Cossack chronicles. The main subjects for the studies on the literature of the Chancellery are revealed, in particular: dating, place of creation and identity of the authors of the texts; the factual accuracy of the messages, the features of the source base used by the Chancellerists, the study of the lists and editions of the chronicles and their comparison among themselves, as well as the peculiarities of the authors’ outlook, their assessment of historical events and figures. The peculiarities of the studies of Soviet scholars under the influence of Marxist ideology are investigated. In a number of cases, researchers have been forced not to touch political and ideological aspects that contradicted official dogmas and interpret historical events in the discourse of class struggle. However, some of the workings of Soviet historians are still relevant today, including the study of the lists and editions of the Cossack chronicles and the features of their source base. Practical meaning: recommended for use in historiography studies and history of Ukraine. Originality. Generalized scientific work of Soviet scholars on the literature of Chancellerist. Scientific novelty. For the first time the works of scientists of 1917–1991 were systematized, in which the Cossack chronicles of Samovydets, G. Hrabianka and S. Velichko were studied. Type of the article: descriptive.

Radio Broadcasting as a Component of the Bolshevist System of Authoritary Journalism of Autonomies of the North Caucasus: Stage of Formation

During the consolidation of Soviet power in the North Caucasus, the Bolshevik leadership considered broadcasting as the most important tool for introducing Marxist ideology into the consciousness of the mountain masses. This was caused by the fact that the local population was almost completely illiterate and print propaganda was not very effective. Meanwhile, the processes of formation of regional broadcasting are studied only fragmentarily. The article attempts to identify the main trends in the development of North Caucasian radio, to show the evolution of forms and genres of broadcasting, its transformation into the mouthpiece of the Bolshevik authoritarian regime.