No description available.

Habilitationsschrift--Mainz. / Bibliography: p. [240]-261.

It is often noted that Deuteronomy 28 seems to parallel portions of a Neo-Assyrian treaty, 'The Succession Treaty of Esarhaddon', known as EST. However, while there are undeniably points of similarity between Deuteronomy 28 and EST, affinities to Deuteronomy 28 may also be found in curses from Old Aramaic epigraphs of the first-millennium. In this thesis I consider the relationship of Deuteronomy 28 to the curse traditions of the ancient Near East. I argue that the crux of the issue is the linguistic means of the transmission of these ancient Near Eastern curse traditions to Deuteronomy. Consideration of this is then the prerequisite to a study of the cultural means of transmission: treatments of this problem must encompass a far broader range of materials than hitherto considered, including the Old Aramaic inscriptions. My primary aim in this context is to ascertain whether we may characterize the relation of all these texts to Deuteronomy as one of influence or of intertextuality - terminological categories which I introduce in order to clarify the exact nature of the problem with more precision than that of previous studies. Ultimately it will be found that Deuteronomy 28 reflects a complex interplay between Mesopotamian and Levantine traditions, against previous interpreters who had referred Deuteronomy 28 to an exclusively Mesopotamian horizon. Nevertheless, we cannot consider this interplay to have stemmed from the influence of any one Old Aramaic or Mesopotamian text such as EST in terms of a direct literary connection. Rather, as putative Aramaic vectors of mediation must be posited between the Mesopotamian tradition and Deuteronomy due to the linguistic competence of Judaean scribes in the late monarchic period, this must be understood as a relationship of intertextuality. While the specific literary (or ritual) Vorlage is thus unreconstructable in terms of the documentary evidence, we can nevertheless hypothesize what the Northwest Semitic curse tradition from which this Vorlage was a part may have looked like, based upon the textual traditions to which we do have access - and this tradition is reflected in Deuteronomy 28.

Many neurological disorders are characterized by uncontrolled or non-volitional cursing. The social stigma of coprophenomena can be immense, particularly for young adults with traumatic brain injury or Tourette Syndrome. Little is known about the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying non-volitional cursing, and there is no known treatment. To this end, I propose a mechanism that will prove useful as a guiding theoretical framework for modeling different types of cursing. My overarching hypothesis is that uncontrolled cursing is the breakdown of a feedback loop between physiological arousal and controlled language output. I operationalize the hypothesis that cursing occurs in the context of physiological arousal and the act of cursing further modulates arousal. This thesis will illustrate how the model predicts different patterns of impairment across different disorders of emotion and behavior dysregulation. I will test predictions of the model in two experiments both involving manipulations of arousal and linguistic content. In Experiment 1, I compare the arousal of the lexical environment of curse words to the that of randomly selected non-curse words in a large natural language corpus. In Experiment 2, I use a verbal fluency paradigm to compare physiological arousal and subsequent language production during a cursing task vs. a non-cursing task. / Communication Sciences

This thesis examines the role of praying sacred curses as a means of exercising ecclesiastical discipline within the Christian church. Through a brief analysis of selected social issues challenging the church in the United States, Chapter One addresses the question concerning the appropriateness of punitive praying as a means of furthering the Gospel of Christ. The question, “Is it ever right to pray for the failure, destruction or harm of another person, especially when such prayer is made by Christians in the name of God?” guides the subject of this thesis from both theological and ethical perspectives. A word study on seven key Hebrew words used to designate a “curse” in the Old Testament is made in Chapter Two in an effort to provide the necessary background for the New Testament’s concepts and practices undergirding early Church discipline. The utilization of punitive prayers and the utterances of anathemas throughout the New Testament comprise Chapter Three and points to a significant dimension for church theology inside the community of faith. There is also evidence that such ‘killing prayers’ were used to check secular authorities hostile to the witness of the church. Perhaps the most interesting use of the sacred curse comes from the record of Jesus “cursing” a fig tree, which dies as a result. This tree seems to represent both the religious dimension of Israel and the authoritative rule of the state, each characterized by unbelief and a rejection of the message of Jesus. Chapter Four furthers the discussion concerning the ethical basis for a sacred curse, especially as reflected by the Ten Commandments, and more specifically, in the keeping of the Fourth Commandment, the Sabbath. In conjunction with this sense of discipline, the argument is made that the love of God is often exemplified through the exercise of the curse because persons so affected may be drawn to repentance and seek after God as a result. Chapter Five concludes this study with an indictment on modern theology’s seeming failure to address matters of truth in social issues presently impacting both iv church and state in the USA. This chapter calls for the use of the sacred curse on the basis of local church unity and cohesiveness, while recognizing that such unity may be impossible to achieve. Because there may be no consensus inside the church regarding the exercise of a sacred curse, there is most probably no possibility of realizing the power of such prayers as a means of correcting social issues at odds with perceived truths. / Systematic Theology & Theological Ethics / D.Th. (Theological Ethics)

This thesis examines the role of praying sacred curses as a means of exercising ecclesiastical discipline within the Christian church. Through a brief analysis of selected social issues challenging the church in the United States, Chapter One addresses the question concerning the appropriateness of punitive praying as a means of furthering the Gospel of Christ. The question, “Is it ever right to pray for the failure, destruction or harm of another person, especially when such prayer is made by Christians in the name of God?” guides the subject of this thesis from both theological and ethical perspectives. A word study on seven key Hebrew words used to designate a “curse” in the Old Testament is made in Chapter Two in an effort to provide the necessary background for the New Testament’s concepts and practices undergirding early Church discipline. The utilization of punitive prayers and the utterances of anathemas throughout the New Testament comprise Chapter Three and points to a significant dimension for church theology inside the community of faith. There is also evidence that such ‘killing prayers’ were used to check secular authorities hostile to the witness of the church. Perhaps the most interesting use of the sacred curse comes from the record of Jesus “cursing” a fig tree, which dies as a result. This tree seems to represent both the religious dimension of Israel and the authoritative rule of the state, each characterized by unbelief and a rejection of the message of Jesus. Chapter Four furthers the discussion concerning the ethical basis for a sacred curse, especially as reflected by the Ten Commandments, and more specifically, in the keeping of the Fourth Commandment, the Sabbath. In conjunction with this sense of discipline, the argument is made that the love of God is often exemplified through the exercise of the curse because persons so affected may be drawn to repentance and seek after God as a result. Chapter Five concludes this study with an indictment on modern theology’s seeming failure to address matters of truth in social issues presently impacting both iv church and state in the USA. This chapter calls for the use of the sacred curse on the basis of local church unity and cohesiveness, while recognizing that such unity may be impossible to achieve. Because there may be no consensus inside the church regarding the exercise of a sacred curse, there is most probably no possibility of realizing the power of such prayers as a means of correcting social issues at odds with perceived truths. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Theological Ethics)

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Technology: Language Practice, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / The diversified ways of language use in different geographic areas of the world present valid reasons for the study of various usages of language. Invectives are a major aspect of language that have been greatly neglected in intellectual discourse. Motivated by the paucity of academic literature on invective-related studies and other stereotypes in human communication, the thrust of this work is to discuss the socio-cultural factors embedded in the two cultures in their approach of invectives. The study examines a comparative taxonomy of invectives in isiZulu and Yoruba languages from a socio-semiotic perspective. Drawing examples from the two languages, the study explores instances of semiotic analysis that are created by the assumption that signs, utterances and messages are situated within the context of social relations and processes. The study indicates that invectives are context and culture-dependent and may be perceived differently in line with the field of discourse, tenor of discourse and mode of discourse. The research tools included observation, interviews, and archival materials. Our research also identified and classified pre-assigned invectives, ritualized insult chants, innovative songs and visual insults. Adeosun’s (2012) proposed model of analyzing written poetry in Yoruba was used in analyzing the insults. The following typologies of insults (among others) were observed in the two languages: ethnophaulism, dehumanization, sexotypes and body parts. The study reveals striking similarities and differences in the invective-related discourses of isiZulu and Yoruba. / M

A sexualidade é uma atividade cultural que, desde antiguidade, provoca interesse ao homem, influenciando sua evolução no decorrer da História. Presente no Amor, no Desejo, no Erotismo, na Pornografia, além de em outras manifestações sociais, o sexo é registrado nas mais variadas formas de comunicação. Hoje, podemos notá-lo em textos escritos e falados em imagens comerciais e preventivas, nas falas, nas atitudes, muitas vezes de forma explícita e outras, de forma sugerida. Em diferentes culturas e momentos históricos a sexualidade é registrada tão logo haja possibilidade de fazê-lo. As cantigas medievais galego-portuguesas estão entre os primeiros registros literários e históricos que consideraram a sexualidade, em seus escritos, como comportamento da sociedade ibérica dos séculos XIII e XIV. Elas eram classificadas em três principais gêneros: cantigas de amor, cantigas de amigo e cantigas de escárnio e maldizer, sendo que este último apresentava um vinculo maior com a realidade, em detrimento dos primeiros, que se voltavam mais para o imaginário. Este trabalho estuda, portanto, os registros que as cantigas medievais de escárnio e maldizer dos cancioneiros galego-portugueses fizeram sobre os comportamentos sexuais da sociedade ibérica dos séculos XIII e XIV. Através de 21 cantigas selecionadas da edição critica feita por Manuel Rodrigues Lapa (1970), é possível conferir atitudes sexuais que estão pouco envolvidas com o sentimento amoroso, privilegiando o desejo físico. Diversos foram os recursos expressivos empregados pelos trovadores que vislumbraram a possibilidade de registrar os comportamentos libidinosos vinculados a diversos outros contextos. As palavras, é possível constatar, receberam diferentes conotações, através da malícia. Para melhor entender a sexualidade dos cantares, este trabalho apresenta uma paráfrase e comentários sobre o tema em cada motz, além de um pequeno glossário com o sentido sexual dos principais temas encontrados no material estudado, ressaltando a importância cultural das cantigas. / Sexuality is a cultural activity which, since antiquity, causes concern for man, influencing its development throughout history. Present in Love, and Desire in the Erotica, Pornography, and other social events, sex is recorded in various forms of communication. Today, we can notice it in written and spoken in commercial imaging and preventive, language, attitudes, often explicitly and others, so suggested. In different cultures and historical moments sexuality is registered as soon as its possible to do so. The songs of the medieval Galician-Portuguese are among the first literary and historical records that consider sexuality in his writings, such as a behavior of Iberian society of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. They were classified into three main genres: love songs, ballads and songs of a friend of mockery and cursing, but the latter had a greater bond with reality, in spite of the first, which turned more to the imagination. This work studies, therefore, the records that the medieval songs of mockery and cursing songbooks of Galician-Portuguese made about the sexual behavior of Iberian society of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Through 21 songs selected from the critical edition made by Manuel Rodrigues Lapa (1970), it is possible to give sexual attitudes that are little concerned with the feeling of love, focusing on physical desire. Several significant resources were employed by the troubadours who saw the possibility of registering the libidinous behavior linked to several other contexts. The words, as it can be seen, were given different connotations by malice. To comprehend better the sexuality of the songs, this work presents a paraphrase and comments about the topic in each \"motz\" besides of a short glossary of the sexual sense of the major themes found in the studied material, emphasizing the cultural importance of the songs.

A sexualidade é uma atividade cultural que, desde antiguidade, provoca interesse ao homem, influenciando sua evolução no decorrer da História. Presente no Amor, no Desejo, no Erotismo, na Pornografia, além de em outras manifestações sociais, o sexo é registrado nas mais variadas formas de comunicação. Hoje, podemos notá-lo em textos escritos e falados em imagens comerciais e preventivas, nas falas, nas atitudes, muitas vezes de forma explícita e outras, de forma sugerida. Em diferentes culturas e momentos históricos a sexualidade é registrada tão logo haja possibilidade de fazê-lo. As cantigas medievais galego-portuguesas estão entre os primeiros registros literários e históricos que consideraram a sexualidade, em seus escritos, como comportamento da sociedade ibérica dos séculos XIII e XIV. Elas eram classificadas em três principais gêneros: cantigas de amor, cantigas de amigo e cantigas de escárnio e maldizer, sendo que este último apresentava um vinculo maior com a realidade, em detrimento dos primeiros, que se voltavam mais para o imaginário. Este trabalho estuda, portanto, os registros que as cantigas medievais de escárnio e maldizer dos cancioneiros galego-portugueses fizeram sobre os comportamentos sexuais da sociedade ibérica dos séculos XIII e XIV. Através de 21 cantigas selecionadas da edição critica feita por Manuel Rodrigues Lapa (1970), é possível conferir atitudes sexuais que estão pouco envolvidas com o sentimento amoroso, privilegiando o desejo físico. Diversos foram os recursos expressivos empregados pelos trovadores que vislumbraram a possibilidade de registrar os comportamentos libidinosos vinculados a diversos outros contextos. As palavras, é possível constatar, receberam diferentes conotações, através da malícia. Para melhor entender a sexualidade dos cantares, este trabalho apresenta uma paráfrase e comentários sobre o tema em cada motz, além de um pequeno glossário com o sentido sexual dos principais temas encontrados no material estudado, ressaltando a importância cultural das cantigas. / Sexuality is a cultural activity which, since antiquity, causes concern for man, influencing its development throughout history. Present in Love, and Desire in the Erotica, Pornography, and other social events, sex is recorded in various forms of communication. Today, we can notice it in written and spoken in commercial imaging and preventive, language, attitudes, often explicitly and others, so suggested. In different cultures and historical moments sexuality is registered as soon as its possible to do so. The songs of the medieval Galician-Portuguese are among the first literary and historical records that consider sexuality in his writings, such as a behavior of Iberian society of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. They were classified into three main genres: love songs, ballads and songs of a friend of mockery and cursing, but the latter had a greater bond with reality, in spite of the first, which turned more to the imagination. This work studies, therefore, the records that the medieval songs of mockery and cursing songbooks of Galician-Portuguese made about the sexual behavior of Iberian society of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Through 21 songs selected from the critical edition made by Manuel Rodrigues Lapa (1970), it is possible to give sexual attitudes that are little concerned with the feeling of love, focusing on physical desire. Several significant resources were employed by the troubadours who saw the possibility of registering the libidinous behavior linked to several other contexts. The words, as it can be seen, were given different connotations by malice. To comprehend better the sexuality of the songs, this work presents a paraphrase and comments about the topic in each \"motz\" besides of a short glossary of the sexual sense of the major themes found in the studied material, emphasizing the cultural importance of the songs.

This dissertation calls attention to three important contemporary texts from West Africa that resist the tacit cultural taboo around questions of sexuality to imagine empowering images of female sexuality. Using postcolonial feminist approaches, queer theory, and cultural studies, I analyze two novels and a film by T. Obinkaram Echewa, Frieda Ekotto, and film director Jean Pierre Bekolo to retrieve moments in which women characters turn the tables on denigrating views of their sexuality and marshal its power in the service of resistance. I show how in these texts, women bare their nether parts, wield menstrual cloths, enjoy same-sex erotic acts, sit on men's faces, and engage in many other stigmatized practices in a display of what I call "genital powers." These powers are both traditional to the cultures analyzed here and called into new forms by the pressures of decolonization and globalization. Through more complex representations of female sexuality, these texts chart a tradition in which stale binaries of victims and oppressors, the body as an exclusive site of female subjugation or as a site of eternal female power are blurred, allowing a deeper understanding of women's lived experiences and what it means to be a resisting subject in the postcolonial space. By broadly recovering women's powers and subjectivities, centering on sexuality and the body, I also examine the ways in which this mode of female subjectivity has thus far escaped comprehensive theorization. In this way, my project responds to Gayatri Spivak's call to postcolonial intellectuals to unlearn privileged forms of resistance in the recognition of subjectivity, and to develop tools that would allow us to "listen" to the voices of disenfranchised women - those removed from the channels of knowledge production. However, my study cautions that the recognition of genital powers should not be conflated with the romanticized celebration of female bodies and sexuality, since West African women continue to struggle against cultural, political, existential, and physical assaults. / text