Debate on the merits of fantastic literature

The possible “value” of “fantastic” or non-mimetic literature has been the subject of an on-going debate. There is, obviously, the dispute between these critics (and academics) who regard non-mimetic literature to be inferior to truly “literary” mainstream fiction and deprived of “literary merit” and those who defend it. Additionally, within the proper field of “fantastic” literature criti-cism there exists an interesting, largely theoretical (but partly also ideological) argument about the merit of particular fantastic genres and cognitive modes that seem to be inherent to those genres. Finally, the status of particular works of fantastic fiction is often debated or questioned.The present paper attempts to initialize a comprehensive discussion on the merits of non-mi-metic (fantastic) literature. It summarizes the previous discourse on the subject and searches for the reasons of various discrepancies and confusion shrouding the field. It also undertakes to dem-onstrate that these discrepancies result primarily from different criteria applied, which are, in turn, determined not only by arbitrary tastes, but, first of all, by methodological, aesthetic, cognitive, and ideological approaches.The whole discussion will, hopefully, prepare the ground for an attempt to approximate poten-tial merits of the whole of non-mimetic fiction and analyze them initially from structural, cognitive, or cultural angles.

Relative importance of surface anisotropy and defects on loop shifts in antiferromagnetic nanoparticles

The shifts in field-cooling hysteresis loops of antiferromagnetic nanoparticle systems have been widely observed in experiments. Here, numerical calculation is used to study the influence of the surface anisotropy and defects. It is found that surface defects alone are sufficient to yield the loop shifts (LS) at proper field angles. Neither the disordered nor the radial surface anisotropy is the indispensable ingredient to generate the LS. However, both of them play a role in enhancing the LS. The possible mechanisms are discussed.

Corporate social entrepreneurship versus social intrapreneurship: same idea, different trajectories ?

We present a critical perspective of the current state of development of CSE and SI as fields of study and practice based on a geographical and conceptual mapping of the actors involved in the two fields. Although these concepts are set into motion by different forces on different paths, they converge towards a common apprehension of social business. CSE has no supporting core and it offers scarce and scattered resources for identity formation, while SI benefits from practitioners’ attention and is thus developing as a proper field of study. Using this knowledge we anticipate what the future holds for these concepts and offer valuable insights for interested practitioners and academics.

Form and Meaning of Rostam and Esfandiy?r Battle in a Coffee House Painting by Mohammad Modabber

Coffee house painting was a new phenomenon in the history of Persian painting, which, along with the preservation of all rational religious and traditional art values, was born to the need of the people and to respect people’s beliefs. Shahnameh stories were a proper field for creation of epic images of chivalric men who always stood up heroically to the honor and dignity of their mother land at any time, like RostamDastan.In this regard, a coffee house painting of “The battle of Rostam and Esfandiy?r” by Mohammad Modabber from Shahnameh epic text is examined to understand the meaning of the image by analyzing its lines and patterns. Opening this path and through the way passed to understand the meaning, recognizing the special contracts used by Mohammad Modabber in the coffee house painting of “The battle of Rostam and Esfandiy?r” and its various implications sound highly necessary.

Choosing a field: How graduate student choices of field sites reflect different ideas of 'real' anthropology in Colombia and the United States

This paper examines the decisions and motivations of graduate students in cultural anthropology when defining the field sites and topics of their final projects. The decisions among students at the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia are contrasted with those at the University of Pittsburgh in the United States. A review of recent final projects in both universities was conducted, along with a survey and some follow-up questions with students in both institutions. A main difference found is that students at los Andes are more willing to do applied fieldwork at 'home', while students at Pittsburgh are far more reluctant to do so and prefer to go to distant fields. This distinction is partly explained by the histories of the anthropologies practised in each locale, and of what have been considered 'proper' field sites in cultural anthropology. In particular, a vision of anthropology as an applied enterprise emerged at different historical moments in these two geo-political locations, and those visions are associated with quite different, opposed values today.