No Man’s Land or Neutral Ground: Perceived Gendered Differences in Ideologies of War

This article approaches gender in the Viking Age as a fluid social category, to be understood through an intersectional lens alongside other cultural variables. Using material from the Vestfold region, the article argues that the perceived genders encountered in mortuary remains from the area display a significant amount of social similarities. It therefore proposes to explore the expression of social roles across, rather than within gendered lines. The approach challenges the traditional tendency of dividing gendered archaeological remains based on a few, select categories singled out from the grave goods. It suggests that a more open approach would avoid overlooking real and tangible levels of shared expressions between graves assigned different gender in many mortuary contexts. The article challenges the idea of a Viking Age instigated by male violence and the interlinked belief that women are naturally less inclined to violence and more disposed to be nurturing and caring. These concepts are examined as modern constructs and as such they are not applicable to the past without scrutiny. I argue that the idea of a Viking Age warriorideology, which leaves no room for women, is culturally ingrained and needs to be questioned in light of both archaeological material and written sources. By critically examining the ideas mentioned above, wider discussions can be created, where gender does not necessarily play a limiting role in the enactment of certain social ideologies. Hence, this article does not seek to detail the specifics of female involvement in war, but rather to explore the cultural contexts that have influenced perceptions of such participation.

The Purga Archipelago

This chapter recounts the raid in Drvar, which was the final attempt to use military means to eliminate the Partisan movement and Marshall Tito's Supreme Command. It analyzes the supposed outcome of the Anglo-American units entering Yugoslavia in accordance with the plan for landings on Krk and in Rijeka, if the German paratroops succeeded in eliminating Tito. It also describes Tito's liberated territory on the island of Vis which offered a neutral ground and ideal conditions for special warfare. The chapter talks about intelligence operatives in the Balkans that were more important than Russian tank armies or a US strategic air force. It refers to Moscow-trained Yugoslav technocrats of the dictatorship of the proletariat and brigand captains that were disciplined and organized by Tito in order to carry out feats on a European scale.

Taming the Thoughts in the Writings of Maximos the Confessor

St. Maximos the Confessor, a 7th-century monk, wrote several ascetical treatises that addressed the monastic life. This article explores the role of unwanted intrusive thoughts, the logismoi, outlined in two of his earlier works, the Centuries on Love and the Questions and Doubts. The author encourages the reader to pay particular attention to one’s thoughts, take the time to familiarize oneself with the thoughts that enter one’s mind, and offers advice on how to eliminate the causes of unwanted intrusive thoughts. He concludes that the mind or nous is considered neutral ground and one is able to control, but not completely eradicate, the unwanted thoughts by utilizing specific spiritual techniques.

PONTE BEZERRA DA SILVA A ARTE PÚBLICA PROVOCANDO O SENSO COMUM / Bezerra da Silva’s bridge Public art provoking common sense

Em 2012, o Coletivo Transverso realizou uma intervenção em Brasília que consistiu em uma espécie de “rebatismo” de uma ponte chamada, até então, “Costa e Silva”, renomeando-a para “Bezerra da Silva”. Essa provocação, “renomear” uma ponte, teria qual significado dentro do contexto urbano? Entendendo como arte pública esse tipo de proposta artística que deposita na interação com o público sua própria condição de existência, faremos uma análise da obra “ponte Bezerra da Silva” e de seus desdobramentos nos espaços da cidade, a fim de refletir a respeito do alcance político que esse tipo de obra de arte dispõe. Partindo do entendimento de que toda obra de arte é política, uma vez que nunca é fundada em um terreno neutro, compreendemos que a arte está sempre trabalhando na reprodução ou na desarticulação de uma dada hegemonia.Palavras-chave: Arte pública; Coletivo Transverso; Espaços públicos; Ponte Bezerra da Silva. Abstract In 2012, Coletivo Transverso carried out an intervention in Brasília that consisted of a kind of “rebaptism” of a bridge called, until then, “Costa e Silva”, renaming it to “Bezerra da Silva”. Does this provocation, "renaming" a bridge, have any meaning in the urban context? Understanding as public art this type of artistic proposal that deposits in the interaction with the public its own condition of existence, since it participates in its creation process, we will analyze the work “ponte Bezerra da Silva” and its unfolding in the spaces of in order to reflect on the political scope that this type of work of art has. Starting from the understanding that every work of art is political, since it is never founded on a neutral ground, we understand that art is always working on the reproduction or disarticulation of a given hegemony.Keywords: Public Art; Coletivo Transverso; Public spaces; Bezerra da Silva's bridge.