From a mimetic to a holographic paradigm in fiction: Toward a definition of feminist writing

This paper outlines a theory of fiction by examining the shift from the basically mimetic nineteenth century to be essentially non‐mimetic twentieth century. It further argues that the contemporary novel, as herein interpreted, constitutes a bona fide expression of feminist writing.

The paper contends thatthe transformation undergone by the novel as it moved from the nineteenth century to the twentieth century bears witness to the wide ranging transformation affecting the western world today. A number of inter‐related shifts have occurred ostensibly leading the western mind into a radically new world view, or new paradigm. Indeed, our culture is steadily moving from the absolutes of traditional physics to the relativity of the new physics and quantum theory; from a “logocentric”¹ to a “deconstructive”² universe; from a fragmentary (basically static and non‐creative) to a holistic (essentially dynamic and creative) realm; from representation to holography. Inasmuch as “representation” relates to “mimesis”, this paper ultimately redefines its aim by proposing to explore a shift from a mimetic to a holographic paradigm in fiction.

The notion of the holograph is therefore essential to the paper. As herein interpreted, holography not only challenges representation, but it also devalues the linear view of time (which is central to western culture) by focusing on the “now” and thereby delving into the depths of reality — the realm of the underlying, creative forces which the western world is presently releasing. It is precisely the release of long‐repressed forces that is drastically transforming western culture. This sheds new light on the problematics of western alienation which can now be reassessed in terms of “alienation from the creative source”.

In the final analysis, the paper contends that the emerging forces are essentially feminine. This posits an ultimate, all‐encompassing shift which may be said to be leading us from a male‐oriented to a holistically‐oriented culture: a culture that celebrates the essential oneness and fundamental dynamics of Life. Since the twentieth century novel has superbly explored and expressed the emergence of these forces, the paper regards it as the epitome of feminist writing. This writing is to be viewed as practice in the sense that it expresses the very process of change it has helped foster and in which it participates: the process of integration of the creative depths of being.     

Field Theory,Cultural Capital,and the First Amendment: Two Paradoxes in the Legitimation of News

Does law influence the legitimation of news? I examine legitimations offered during ethics debates about news stories in which private people are thrust into the media spotlight. When navigating the space between what can be published lawfully and what should be published, journalism organizations offer legitimations that vary in ways that reflect the hierarchy of legal frameworks for decision. According to field theory, the cultural capital of the juridical field is constitutive of status hierarchies in the journalism field, even though the First Amendment leaves journalism to structure itself. This structuring leads to two paradoxes. First, in the performance of negative legitimation, news organizations justify ethics violations by converting the minimum standard of lawful speech into claimsmaking about laudable speech. Second, in acts of displacing legitimation, reporters suggest that more publicity is the remedy for invading privacy, translating the valorization of speech rights over privacy rights into a puzzling norm.     

In Praise of smallholders

In this review article, Robert Netting's book, Smallholders, Householders. Farm Families and the Ecology of Intensive Sustainable Agriculture ‐ the product of a lifetime of study and fieldwork by an American anthropologist, schooled in cultural ecology ‐ is considered. The book, which is essentially about adaptations to population increase in different ecological contexts, is dedicated to the defence of smallholders against both Right and Left. It is seen as having some several excellent qualities, not least the relevance of its central stress on ecology. But it is criticised, inter alia, for its attempt to explain land tenure by land use rather than social struggle. The absence of any awareness of Narodnik ecological thought on the peasantry is noted.

Smallholders, Householders: Farm Families and the Ecology of Intensive, Sustainable Agriculture, by Robert McC. Netting. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1993. Pp.xiv + 389. £37.50 (hardback); £12.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 804 721 025 (pbk)     

Reflections on a psycho-anthropological approach to population studies

This work explores the potential complementarity of the sociodemographic, psychoanthropological, and sociopsychoanalytical perspectives for achieving understanding of the individual and familial roots of demographic behavior. Examination of the sociodemographic focus was stimulated and enriched by a 1986 seminar that considered theoretical and methodological problems in the integration of demographic dynamics into social research. Specific questions raised concerned the advantages and shortcomings of attitude and opinion surveys, the specifics of microsocial investigation, and the importance of the family as a mediator between larger social influences and individual behavior. Reflections on the relevance of the psychoanthropological tradition to the problems of microsocial research were influenced by a work published in the mid 1960s by the anthropologist and psychoanalyst Devereux. The affective distancing and unconscious defensive reactions of the investigator must, according to Devereux, be taken into account but also offer rich possibilities for analysis. Devereux also stressed that the study of human behavior occurs in the context of a reciprocal relation between the observer and the observed, with the observed playing a far from passive role. The presence of the observer occasions certain reactions but also is a source of complementary and relevant data for the study of behavior. A third possibility suggested by Devereux is that of approaching the unconscious of the study subjects through examination of the anxiety and other unconscious reactions of the researcher. Interpretative questionnaires, finally, are a tool of the sociopsychoanalytical tradition of potential use in demographic study. Interpretative questionnaires are applied to individuals in order to study personal psychic aspects, but their goal is the study of the socioeconomic and cultural environment that molds the personal characteristics of the respondents.     

Militarism and Dual-Conflict Capacity

This research note examines how domestic institutions can moderate the relationship between domestic and interstate conflict involvement. Previous work has found that military dictatorships are more likely to become involved in either domestic or international conflicts, compared to party-based autocracies. We argue that the same institutional explanations for why military autocracies are more conflict-prone also make them less capable of successfully carrying out multiple conflicts at the same time. Analyzing interstate and domestic conflict involvement on a sample of dictatorships over the period 1947–2004, we show that military autocracies dealing with internal armed conflict are less likely than their nonmilitary counterparts to become involved in an international conflict.