Search Results (8)

The objective of this article is to provide a critical analysis of maritime heterotopia as a category for reinterpreting ships, shipwrecks and maritime landscapes between the 16th and 18th centuries. Through an interdisciplinary approach combining history, underwater archaeology, heritage theory and literary analysis, it explores the ways in which maritime spaces, especially ships and shipwrecks, functioned as ‘other spaces’–following Foucault’s concept of heterotopia–in the articulation of imperial projects, power relations, experiences of transit and narratives of memory. A particular focus has been placed on the examination of shipwreck accounts, which are regarded as microhistories of human behaviour in contexts of crisis. These accounts have been shown to offer insights into alternative social structures, dynamics of authority, and manifestations of violence or solidarity. A review of the legal framework and practices related to shipwrecks in the Spanish Carrera de Indias is also undertaken, with particular emphasis on their impact on maritime legislation and international law. This article proposes a reading of maritime heritage as a symbolic and political device in constant dispute, where material remains and associated narratives shape collective memories, geopolitical tensions and new forms of cultural appropriation. Shipwrecks thus become sites of rupture and origin, charged with utopian, dystopian and heterotopic potential. Full article

Castles situated in rural areas occupy a distinctive position within the European heritage landscape, serving economic, residential and symbolic functions. While the great urban royal residences have benefited from constant attention, conservation and valorisation in Central and Eastern Europe, castles in rural areas have often been subjected to systematic neglect. The objective of this study is to analyse three castles (Bulci, Căpâlnaș and Petriș) in the Lower Mureș Valley in Romania, with a view to observing how these symbols of a fragmented past have been marked by historical ruptures, regime changes and marginalisation policies, and the current potential of these castles to be transformed from derelict spaces into spaces of local importance. Should our research contribute to the study of the transformation of derelict spaces of historical castles into invigorating spaces, from a methodological point of view the following three steps were taken: (1) an assessment of the state of conservation and the factors that led to the degradation of these noble domains was carried out; (2) research was conducted on the perception of stakeholders regarding how castles can become a generator of local development; and (3) an analysis of the development proposals around these castles from stakeholders was performed. The study is based on 35 semi-structured interviews conducted with stakeholders and residents of the castle communities analysed, and on a thematic content analysis of these interviews. The findings of the research suggest a state of conservation that is insecure, and the perceptions of stakeholders indicate a necessity for institutional intervention and public–private partnerships. There is also a conviction that attracting large-scale investors is essential for the revitalisation of these monuments. The responses indicate a genuine concern for the future of the castles. The proposals for the development of the castles are oriented towards their utilisation in cultural tourist circuits. Full article

The mashrabiya is a key element that characterizes Islamic architecture, and in recent years it has been reintroduced into public building designs, partially due to its strong symbolic significance. Focusing on the application of mashrabiyas in historical public buildings, this work aims to contribute by examining the use of this architectural element in traditional Islamic public architecture. This area has received comparatively less attention in the existing literature, which predominantly focuses on residential applications. While the functions and applications of mashrabiyas in the residential context are well documented, their role within public structures remains less explored. This study investigates their functions in eight case studies from Egypt, Syria, Morocco, and India, spanning four public building types: mosques, Quranic schools, bimaristans, and caravanserais. The methodology considers the mashrabiya within four categories of public buildings in Islamic architecture across diverse geographical contexts, trying to understand possible unique characteristics in its form, material, and function. The choice of this method is based on the need to identify possible analogies or specific differences among the various examples of mashrabiya analyzed within their respective typologies. The results show that the mashrabiya in Islamic public buildings has transcended its functional aspects to hold a symbolic meaning in Islamic culture. Over the centuries, it has been a significant and constant presence in Islamic public buildings. The choice of materials—wood and stone—reflects geographical and technological influences; however, despite design variations, all refer to abstract geometric motifs central to Islamic decorative tradition. Full article

A cultural landscape is the result of a continuous interaction between the surrounding natural landscape and culture. Meanings, symbols, and codes of culture are an integral part of it. This paper is a review of publications on current research over the past 20 years. The aim is to analyze the existing research practices, which are based on factual evidence and existing theoretical foundations, using an interdisciplinary approach, in order to come closer to a sufficiently holistic understanding of the coloristic semantics of the cultural landscape. Such a review and analysis of disparate studies allows for the first time the correlation of different types of cultural landscapes (urban, rural, gardens, and parks) and different types of signifier functions performed in them by color—signals, indices, iconic models, conventional signs or symbols, zero, or empty signs. The author analyzes the difference in the semantics of chromatic and achromatic colors and explores the landscape chromodynamics, namely, by creating the first-ever classification of the types and meanings of color foci of various durations—from days to decades. Color loci signs are continuously communicating in the cultural landscape, which is a field of constant “cultural explosion”, where traditional cultural meanings are transmitted and new meanings are generated. The author comes to the conclusion that color symbolism is part of the “landscape-as-text” containing certain information—“messages” of culture to itself. In these messages, color has sacral, temporal, and historical semantics, thus creating an extended semantic frame for the reproduction of cultural codes. Full article

The article is devoted to the integrated interdisciplinary study of multiple aspects of the conceptosphere of the Arctic and the North and its representation in the collective consciousness of Russian students. The purposes of this paper are to examine the current status of the creation of an integrated paradigm of knowledge about the Arctic in humanities and the social sciences, and to draw conclusions about the emerging trends of understanding of the cultural and symbolic constants of the Arctic area. The respondents (students of Saint Petersburg Mining University) gave 2357 responses to the stimulus “the Arctic” in the course of the free associative experiment. The obtained associates were distributed into culturally significant thematic groups. The main thesis of this study is that the meaningfulness of the image of the Arctic and the North is in many respects determined by key ideas present in the collective consciousness, and by the life priorities and orientations of today’s young people. The idea of the extreme, severe conditions, and the danger of this region of the Earth dominates in minds of Russian students. Nevertheless, this land is rich in natural resources and is a unique platform for a wide range of research. A further tendency is identified in the formation of the image of the Arctic and the North in the mass media: new trends are affected by geopolitical factors, focusing on the pivotal role of the Arctic area as a territory of national interests. The creation of a “conflict image” of the Arctic region is counterproductive. In this regard, it is necessary to put into practice the concept of Arctic solidarity, in order to promote integration processes in the exploration of the circumpolar region. Full article

Sand grains are ubiquitous in the Earth’s system, and are found in different environmental settings globally, but sand itself as a physical object has multiple conflicting meanings with respect to both its agglomeration into landforms such as sand dunes and beaches, and how sand and its dynamics have cultural significance and meaning. This study takes a transdisciplinary approach towards examining the multiple meanings of sand, focusing on sand as a spatiotemporal pheneomenon that exists in different contexts within the Earth system. The nature and spatiotemporalities of sand are framed in this study through the concepts of presence, absence and transience, which are key interpretive approaches that lie at the interface of how the physical and phenomenological worlds interact with each other. This is a new and innovative approach to understanding people–environment relationships. These concepts are then discussed using the examples of the dynamics of and values ascribed to desert dune and sandy beach landscapes, drawn from locations globally. These examples show that the dynamic geomorphic changes taking place in sand landscapes (sandscapes) by erosion and deposition (determining the presence and absence of sand in such landscapes) pose challenges for the ways in which people make sense of, locate, interact with and value these landscapes. This uncertainty that arises from constant change (the transience of sandscapes) highlights the multiple meanings that sandscapes can hold, and this represents the comforting yet also unsettling nature of sand, as a vivid symbol of human–Earth relationships. Full article

Dogon masks have been famous for a long time—and none more so than the kanaga mask, the so-called croix de Lorraine. A host of interpretations of this particular mask circulate in the literature, ranging from moderately exotic to extremely exotic. This contribution will focus on one particular mask situated within the whole mask troupe, and it will do so in the ritual setting to which it belongs: a second funeral, long after the burial. A description of this ritual shows how the mask troupe forms the constantly moving focus in a captivating ritual serving as second funeral. Thus, the mask rites bridge major divides in Dogon culture, between male and female, between man and nature, and between this world and the supernatural one. They are able to do so because they themselves are in constant motion, between bush and village and between sky and earth. Masks are matter in motion and symbols in context. Within imagistic religions such as the Dogon one, these integrative functions form a major focus of Dogon masks rituals—and hence, to some extent, of African mask rituals in general. In the Dogon case, the ritual creates a virtual reality through a highly embodied performance by the participants themselves. Then, the final question can be broached, that of interpretation. What, in the end, do these masquerades signify? And our kanaga mask, what does it stand for? Full article

There are numerous ways to theorise about elements of civilisations and societies known as ‘body’, ‘movement’, or ‘physical’ cultures. Inspired by the late Henning Eichberg’s notions of multiple and continually shifting body cultures, this article explores his constant comparative (trialectic) approach via the Mexican martial art, exercise, and human development philosophy—Xilam. Situating Xilam within its historical and political context and within a triad of Mesoamerican, native, and modern martial arts, combat sports, and other physical cultures, I map this complexity through Eichberg’s triadic model of achievement, fitness, and experience sports. I then focus my analysis on the aspects of movement in space as seen in my ethnographic fieldwork in one branch of the Xilam school. Using a bare studio as the setting and my body as principle instrument, I provide an impressionist portrait of what it is like to train in Xilam within a communal dance hall (space) and typical class session of two hours (time) and to form and express warrior identity from it. This article displays the techniques; gestures and bodily symbols that encapsulate the essence of the Xilam body culture, calling for a way to theorise from not just from and on the body but also across body cultures. Full article