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TO VIEW THE CULTURAL ARTIFACTS and works of art from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas at the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris, one has to walk first through [...]

A litany of mythical criticisms of the Green Revolution has so often been repeated and so widely disseminated that the critics' slogans have been accepted by many educated observers as […]

Humanitarian intervention was supposed to have gone the way of the 1990s. The use of military force across borders to stop mass killing was seen as a luxury of an [...]

Many US authors feel critic William Logan is too harsh, personal, prescriptive and acerbic in his approach to their work. Logan feels the best poetry is formal with traditional rhyme and meter as prominent elements.

Issues discussed concern the critical and popular reception of the 'Jalna' series of novels by Canadian author Mazo de la Roche. Topics addressed include de la Roche's relationship with her publishers, critical perceptions of high and low culture, and the distinctions set by reviewers concerning serious versus popular literature.

Opinions are presented on realism in art and literature, as expressed by Australian academics, authors and critics. Topics include debates on whether the complexities of life can be accurately and faithfully expressed in a created medium, and the role of fiction in representing truth.

RACHEL KUSHNER Once upon a time in Paris, there was a short-lived meeting place in the form of a journal called Tiqqun, which, in two volumes, published anonymous philosophical writings [...]

The author expresses his frustration with the 1998 International James Joyce Symposium organizers for failing to adequately schedule conference discussions and accommodations for attending scholars. The many detractions and few benefits of the conference are summarized.

Scholars continue to gain insight and knowledge from Leo Spitzer's critiques of literature from the Middle Ages and his own time. Spitzer's love of linguistics and language provided him with a unique perspective on literature. He evaluated medieval works with the same technique as more contemporary writings and never let his Christian perspective distort his readings. Spitzer's humanist approach does not exclude his works from continuing to influence modern scholars.

There are several problems concerned with the use of the term 'rhetoric' by French author Roland Barthes. These problems can be gleaned from his lifelong career of analyzing rhetoric, first as a technical concept belonging to a historical discipline. This was followed by studies of rhetoric as a means of persuasive communication that is totally applicable to contemporary society. The most important point to consider in Barthes' use of the term 'rhetoric' is that Barthes collapses the notion of truth and generally accepted public opinion into one.

Vissarion Belinskii is regarded as the father of the Russian liberal intelligentsia and was an ardent supporter of radical socioeconomic reform in 19th century Russia. However, he was critical of the Ukrainian nationalist struggle and attacked Ukrainian literature. Belinskii believed that since Ukraine cannot prepare its people for a higher historical purpose, it would be better if the country become assimilated into imperial Russia.

The controversy regarding the first law of the Gortyn Code reflects an interest over the question of its status. Haim Rosen and Raphael Sealy argue that the first law refers to the prohibition of seizure of a person over whom one claims authority before trial. However, the explanation that the first law prohibits seizure only in the case of persons whose status is in dispute is correct. The law addresses balancing the rights of the rich and the poor and reinforces faith in the legal system. The provisions were enacted in the fifth century and not taken from the traditional rules.

LIKE BEACHCOMBERS, architecture critics are at the mercy of whatever happens to drift in. They may stare for a decade at an empty horizon, or a typhoon or some other [...]

A likeness between the Russian critic Herman Laroche and the German critic Eduard Hanslick justifies the description of Laroche as a Russian herald of Hanslick. Laroche referred to Hanslick in his 1867-68 writings through which he attempted to introduce the Hanslick's ideas into Russia. Hanslick and Laroche were conservatives and bear many resemblances in matters of aesthetic principle. However, Hanslick had an inclination for Beethoven while Laroche favoured Mozart. The two critics also differed in their views on Russian music.

Critical operatic reviews have succumbed to the tendency of praising by omission. Critics no longer distinguish between good singing and good operatic technique. Critical operatic reviews are verbose and nonsensical, using technical terms indiscriminately. Good singers are not necessarily good operatic performers, a fact overlooked by most critics. There is a difference between good singing technique and musical dramatical technique. Critics also suffer from biases, refusing to give criticism to famous personalities.

The tenets of literary criticism in the English-speaking world underwent significant changes during the first half of the 20th century. The complacency and conformity characteristic of literature in the late 19th century was replaced by the difficult text of modernist literature. However, the works of H.L. Mencken and Van Wyck Brooks already signalled future change when they criticized the materialist and philistine tendencies of American culture during the Gilded Age. The attitudes of the critics of this transitional era are presented.

FEW MUSEUMS ARE LINKED TO THE NAME OF AN ARCHITECT AS DECIDEDLY AS THE GUGGENHEIM IS TO FRANK GEHRY'S, SO IT IS ONLY FITTING THAT THE CURRENT FULL-DRESS RETROSPECTIVE OF [...]

Let's briefly consider this tension, this issue, always a live one, of individual personality, individual conviction and critical openness. On the one hand, have the virgin slates, the human hard [...]

The author describes his experiences at the 1998 International James Joyce Convention in Joycean fashion. Topics include the weeks' events and the interaction between the scholars.