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Wednesday: Psalms 137-139
Thursday: Ecclesiastes 11-12
Friday: Malachi Saturday, October 31, 2020
Acts 19-20 Sunday: I John 1-3
Monday: Deuteronomy 23-25
Tuesday: Nehemiah 5-9
And it came to pass, in Apollos' being in Corinth, Paul having gone through the upper parts, came to Ephesus, and having found certain disciples,
he said unto them, `The Holy Spirit did ye receive -- having believed?' and they said unto him, `But we did not even hear whether there is any Holy Spirit;'
and he said unto them, `To what, then, were ye baptized?' and they said, `To John's baptism.'
And Paul said, `John, indeed, did baptize with a baptism of reformation, saying to the people that in him who is coming after him they should believe -- that is, in the Christ -- Jesus;'
and they, having heard, were baptized -- to the name of the Lord Jesus,
and Paul having laid on them [his] hands, the Holy Spirit came upon them, they were speaking also with tongues, and prophesying,
and all the men were, as it were, twelve.
And having gone into the synagogue, he was speaking boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading the things concerning the reign of God,
and when certain were hardened and were disbelieving, speaking evil of the way before the multitude, having departed from them, he did separate the disciples, every day reasoning in the school of a certain Tyrannus.
And this happened for two years so that all those dwelling in Asia did hear the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks,
mighty works also -- not common -- was God working through the hands of Paul,
so that even unto the ailing were brought from his body handkerchiefs or aprons, and the sicknesses departed from them; the evil spirits also went forth from them.
And certain of the wandering exorcist Jews, took upon [them] to name over those having the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, `We adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul doth preach;'
and there were certain -- seven sons of Sceva, a Jew, a chief priest -- who are doing this thing;
and the evil spirit, answering, said, `Jesus I know, and Paul I am acquainted with; and ye -- who are ye?'
And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaping upon them, and having overcome them, prevailed against them, so that naked and wounded they did flee out of that house,
and this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who are dwelling at Ephesus, and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified,
many also of those who did believe were coming, confessing and declaring their acts,
and many of those who had practised the curious arts, having brought the books together, were burning [them] before all; and they reckoned together the prices of them, and found [it] five myriads of silverlings;
so powerfully was the word of God increasing and prevailing.
And when these things were fulfilled, Paul purposed in the Spirit, having gone through Macedonia and Achaia, to go on to Jerusalem, saying -- `After my being there, it behoveth me also to see Rome;'
and having sent to Macedonia two of those ministering to him -- Timotheus and Erastus -- he himself stayed a time in Asia.
And there came, at that time, not a little stir about the way,
for a certain one, Demetrius by name, a worker in silver, making silver sanctuaries of Artemis, was bringing to the artificers gain not a little,
whom, having brought in a crowd together, and those who did work about such things, he said, `Men, ye know that by this work we have our wealth;
and ye see and hear, that not only at Ephesus, but almost in all Asia, this Paul, having persuaded, did turn away a great multitude, saying, that they are not gods who are made by hands;
and not only is this department in danger for us of coming into disregard, but also, that of the great goddess Artemis the temple is to be reckoned for nothing, and also her greatness is about to be brought down, whom all Asia and the world doth worship.'
And they having heard, and having become full of wrath, were crying out, saying, `Great [is] the Artemis of the Ephesians!'
and the whole city was filled with confusion, they rushed also with one accord into the theatre, having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul's fellow-travellers.
And on Paul's purposing to enter in unto the populace, the disciples were not suffering him,
and certain also of the chief men of Asia, being his friends, having sent unto him, were entreating him not to venture himself into the theatre.
Some indeed, therefore, were calling out one thing, and some another, for the assembly was confused, and the greater part did not know for what they were come together;
and out of the multitude they put forward Alexander -- the Jews thrusting him forward -- and Alexander having beckoned with the hand, wished to make defence to the populace,
and having known that he is a Jew, one voice came out of all, for about two hours, crying, `Great [is] the Artemis of the Ephesians!'
And the public clerk having quieted the multitude, saith, `Men, Ephesians, why, who is the man that doth not know that the city of the Ephesians is a devotee of the great goddess Artemis, and of that which fell down from Zeus?
these things, then, not being to be gainsaid, it is necessary for you to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.
`For ye brought these men, who are neither temple-robbers nor speaking evil of your goddess;
if indeed, therefore, Demetrius and the artificers with him with any one have a matter, court [days] are held, and there are proconsuls; let them accuse one another.
`And if ye seek after anything concerning other matters, in the legal assembly it shall be determined;
for we are also in peril of being accused of insurrection in regard to this day, there being no occasion by which we shall be able to give an account of this concourse;'
and these things having said, he dismissed the assembly.
And after the ceasing of the tumult, Paul having called near the disciples, and having embraced [them], went forth to go on to Macedonia;
and having gone through those parts, and having exhorted them with many words, he came to Greece;
having made also three months' [stay] -- a counsel of the Jews having been against him -- being about to set forth to Syria, there came [to him] a resolution of returning through Macedonia.
And there were accompanying him unto Asia, Sopater of Berea, and of Thessalonians Aristarchus and Secundus, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus, and of Asiatics Tychicus and Trophimus;
these, having gone before, did remain for us in Troas,
and we sailed, after the days of the unleavened food, from Philippi, and came unto them to Troas in five days, where we abode seven days.
And on the first of the week, the disciples having been gathered together to break bread, Paul was discoursing to them, about to depart on the morrow, he was also continuing the discourse till midnight,
and there were many lamps in the upper chamber where they were gathered together,
and there was sitting a certain youth, by name Eutychus, upon the window -- being borne down by a deep sleep, Paul discoursing long -- he having sunk down from the sleep, fell down from the third story, and was lifted up dead.
And Paul, having gone down, fell upon him, and having embraced [him], said, `Make no tumult, for his life is in him;'
and having come up, and having broken bread, and having tasted, for a long time also having talked -- till daylight, so he went forth,
and they brought up the lad alive, and were comforted in no ordinary measure.
And we having gone before unto the ship, did sail to Assos, thence intending to take in Paul, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go on foot;
and when he met with us at Assos, having taken him up, we came to Mitylene,
and thence having sailed, on the morrow we came over-against Chios, and the next day we arrived at Samos, and having remained in Trogyllium, on the following day we came to Miletus,
for Paul decided to sail past Ephesus, that there may not be to him a loss of time in Asia, for he hasted, if it were possible for him, on the day of the Pentecost to be at Jerusalem.
And from Miletus, having sent to Ephesus, he called for the elders of the assembly,
and when they were come unto him, he said to them, `Ye -- ye know from the first day in which I came to Asia, how, with you at all times I was;
serving the Lord with all humility, and many tears, and temptations, that befell me in the counsels of the Jews against [me];
how nothing I did keep back of what things are profitable, not to declare to you, and to teach you publicly, and in every house,
testifying fully both to Jews and Greeks, toward God reformation, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
`And now, lo, I -- bound in the Spirit -- go on to Jerusalem, the things that shall befall me in it not knowing,
save that the Holy Spirit in every city doth testify fully, saying, that for me bonds and tribulations remain;
but I make account of none of these, neither do I count my life precious to myself, so that I finish my course with joy, and the ministration that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify fully the good news of the grace of God.
`And now, lo, I have known that no more shall ye see my face, -- ye all among whom I did go preaching the reign of God;
wherefore I take you to witness this day, that I [am] clear from the blood of all,
for I did not keep back from declaring to you all the counsel of God.
`Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit made you overseers, to feed the assembly of God that He acquired through His own blood,
for I have known this, that there shall enter in, after my departing, grievous wolves unto you, not sparing the flock,
and of your own selves there shall arise men, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.
`Therefore, watch, remembering that three years, night and day, I did not cease with tears warning each one;
and now, I commend you, brethren, to God, and to the word of His grace, that is able to build up, and to give you an inheritance among all those sanctified.
`The silver or gold or garments of no one did I covet;
and ye yourselves know that to my necessities, and to those who were with me, minister did these hands;
all things I did shew you, that, thus labouring, it behoveth [us] to partake with the ailing, to be mindful also of the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.'
And these things having said, having bowed his knees, with them all, he did pray,
and there came a great weeping to all, and having fallen upon the neck of Paul, they were kissing him,
sorrowing most of all for the word that he had said -- that they are about no more to see his face; and they were accompanying him to the ship.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Onati once a year, it would be great!
23 Dec 2022 11:35 | Matteo Pignocchi
I was in Onati in November, I had to write my Ph.D. thesis because of i'm going to close my Ph.D. course at University of Macerata (Italy)! I found a great place to study and write about your issues! Calm, friendly people, and a never ending library. In Italy, I actually am a Ph.D. student and a lawyer, so that my day-routine is so frenetic between academy and law firm.
When I left Onati and I came back home, that was my tought: it would be great if I will be able to join Onati and IISL once a year in my life. A moment for me, for my research, to meet people from all over the world.
What about You? Just think about it!
I can only be grateful
1 Dec 2022 13:33 | ITZIAR ALTUZARRA ALONSO
The first phase of the Oñati International Master's in Sociology of Law had not even finished and we had already begun the second one; my classmates and I had chosen a research topic and were clear about the research questions we would try to answer. Moreover, all of us had already had a chat with our supervisors. It was time to write the final Master Thesis. After one of the craziest, strangest, most exhausting, most intense, most enlightening and most precious experiences of my life, it was time for the final touch; I had more than 3 months to work on the research and writing process, although at that starting point I didn't know it would happen so fast. After accumulating books from the library, downloading potentially useful PDFs almost compulsively, reading less than a quarter of all of them, and getting over the blank page anguish, I began to write my research project that would eventually be called "Problematising sexual consent in Spanish rape law: gender norms and the manifestation of sexual will". In the following I generally explain the topic, the methodology and the main findings of the cited work:
Since the second half of 20th century, feminist legal and socio-legal scholars have revised the relations between the law and women's sexuality. Indeed, prolific feminist endeavours continue to question the potentialities of the law in taking due account of women's claims about sexual violence nowadays. In the current legal and political Spanish context, last October the Ley Orgánica de garantía integral de la libertad sexual entered into force in order to reformulate the crime of rape on the basis of consent. Nonetheless, this legal amendment raises questions about its capacity to respond to the spectrum of patriarchal sexual violence. To what extent is the element of consent in the legal redefinition of rape capable to capture women's sexual will? To address this main issue, I answer the following subquestions: How is sexual consent constructed and represented in the criminal policy discourse underpinning the legal amendment? In which way does the central role of consent shape the criminal justice response to women?
In order to answer these questions my work adopts a feminist methodology, which primarily implies the pretension of a non-androcentric epistemology and the fact that my methodological decisions do not look for abstraction or neutrality, but are made from situated knowledge. Working from a qualitative research informed plan, predictably the research work begins with an exhaustive literature review. In particular, I resort to the argumentation of emblematic feminist authors who have addressed and revolutionised the understanding of women's sexuality and the web of power relations imbued in it, as well as the linkage of all this with the law. This literature informs the elaboration of an empirical analysis that examines the criminal policy discourse around the legal amendment of the Spanish criminal code towards a consent-based rape law. Additionally, feminist poststructuralism informs my empirical analysis. Thus, my concern is to identify assumptions that underpin discursive practices around sexual consent. In line with this, I use Carol Bacchi's What's the Problem Represented to be? approach in order to "disrupt taken-for-granted truths" and I put the focus on what is presumed and unexamined. For this criminal policy analysis my primary sources are the preparatory works underpinning the legal modification, as well as the interventions of the political parties and groupings that took place in the Equality Commission and the Congress of Deputies.
The research work's contribution to socio-legal feminist studies is exposing the patriarchal assumptions upon which the element of sexual consent is currently sustained in the Spanish political and legal context. That is, the project provides theoretical and empirical knowledge base about the potentialities and constrains of this legal element to reflect women's sexual experiences. Moreover, my work shows how this policy contradicts many crucial arguments of the feminist theory in relation to women's lived experiences of sexual violence and rape. Nevertheless, by relying on broader discourses of human rights and international law and repeatedly alluding to the feminist movement, as well as due to the functionality of consent in neoliberal democracy, the legislative process enjoyed high level of acceptance in the country.
Finishing and defending the mentioned work last September was an enormous liberation but also a great emptiness, since it also meant the end of the master's degree that had opened my eyes so much. However, my surprise came a few weeks later, when Susana Arrese announced to me that the prestigious jury composed by Vincenzo Ferrari, Teresa Pincontó Novales and Joxerramon Bengoetxea had decided to award me the Manolo Calvo 2022 prize for my Master's dissertation. This award came at the perfect moment for me; my insecurities have always conditioned me and the prize provided me with a great source of motivation and self-confidence to move forward in my professional path, for which I am very grateful indeed. Additionally, this acknowledgment was even more special due to the fact that it was given in honour of the professor Manolo Calvo, who passed away in 2020 and dedicated a great deal of work and effort to research on violence against women. As those who know me best will know, this is a topic that moves me, angers me and stimulates me as a researcher. Furthermore, despite not having had the opportunity to know Manolo personally, the affection with which his colleagues and friends remember him leaves no doubt about his human quality. If that was not enough, this award gave me the visibility for participating in the conference called Juntas contra las violencias machistas organised by Instituto Aragonés de la Mujer on the occasion of 25N, an experience that I enjoyed enormously and that I am still assimilating.
In short, I can only be grateful to this wonderful community of people, who every year - and every day - show how collaboration between individuals is always a synergistic relationship in which the collective action of two or more components has a greater effect than the sum of their individual parts.
A stay of a criminologist in Oñati
14 Sep 2022 19:00 | Manuel Fanega
Here it is my contribution to this blog, on my enriching experience in Oñati, where I relate a bit of my experience in my first one-month-stay in the International Institute for the Sociology of Law.
To start with, it is good to know that the working language is English. Switch to English as you pass through the door of Antia Residence. When someone don't speak Spanish or Basque, all the group switch to English immediately. This is not rare but frequent: I met people from Canada, Australia, France, Hungary, the USA…
Traditional and critical criminology is everywhere. The Institute has a big library on Sociology of Law. Perhaps for this reason, if you are a criminologist, you'll feel very comfortable there. The library has three spaces. One, with physical (and electronic) journals (Eguzquilore, Punishment and Society, and so on) and one scanner; and two more spaces plenty of books, mainly written in English, but also in other languages. You'll find many references to include in your writings on Social Control, Policing, Prisons, Human rights, Governance, etc. and there are also many fundamental pieces on Political Science, Sociology, Philosophy, Law, etc.
Practice of sports. Within a five-minute's walk from the Institute or the Residence you can find the public Zubikoa Sport Centre. In my case, I frequently enjoyed the pool (open all-year-round), but there are further sports to practice. During summer there's also an area to sunbath. You can buy a single ticket for every session or to get a 10-sesions-boucher. The staff is very friendly, as all Oñati inhabitants. Also, in summer, don't forget to walk or bike to the natural pool of Usako, that it's very near of Oñati.
Accommodation. Although you'll arrive to Oñati with a prearrangement accommodation, once you are there you may find other offers. Sometimes, there're availability of apartments or rooms from Oñati's inhabitants, which are very kind and reliable. In my case, I stayed one week in an apartment, because the Residence was full in those days. The landlord was very kind (thanks M. for the bikes and your hospitality). Also, the Institute staff will do everything to help you and make your stay as happy as possible.
Communications. I used public transports in my stay. Based on that experience, I'd to recommend you get the Gipuzkoa card to save a bit of money traveling within this province. Besides, there're one or two direct buses from Bilbao airport to Oñati, but everybody will recommend you go to San Prudentzio bus stop, which is a busy commuting point to Oñati, Bilbao, San Sebastian-Donosti and Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Food. Since you've a well-equipped kitchen in Antia Residence, you can prepare your own meal. Within five-minutes-walk you can find a medium-side supermarket called Eroski, and a bigger Eroski by ten-minutes-walk in the opposite direction; this one with fresh fish and seafood. In that way there are also a small supermarket called Coviran, that opens until ten, even on Sundays. If you can't live without fresh bread every morning, go to Atzeko Kalea, 14. Also, you can have breakfast in Ogi Berri or Bizipoz Kafe in your way to the Institute. At lunch time, I used to go to the building of Mondragon University in Oñati (no id. is required to access to the canteen, but ask the staff to be seated). Their daily-menu is wealthy, tasty and it cost around 13€. Don't leave Oñati without learn about the Mondragon's cooperative system, where the supermarket previously mentioned, Eroski, is also a part of.
Finally, and the more important: Oñati is a hub of ideas, scholars and a very productive place. It doesn't matter when or where. You'll write a lot in the morning, confront your ideas with colleagues in the afternoon (at the same time you enjoy a glass of Basque cider during pintxopote) or attend a private master class on methodology of science in the terrace of Antia at night (thanks Javier B.).
To sum up, Oñati is a perfect ecosystem where time lets you space to enjoy, rest, think, write and share. That is, to fully live knowledge.
Thanks for all, OC!
Manuel Fanega (Loyola University, Spain)
June in Oñati
19 Aug 2022 17:32 | Jennifer Koshan
For the month of June 2022 I had the honour of being a visiting scholar at the International Institute for the Sociology of Law in Oñati. I had been to Oñati twice before for workshops, and like most people I fell in love with the people, place, and pintxos. I could not wait to spend longer at the Institute, though wait I did until pandemic conditions allowed. After over two years of limited travel and in person interactions, it felt like a dream to hang out in the IISL library with other visiting scholars, graduate students, helpful staff, and the immense and diverse collection of socio-legal tomes. Almost every day included a long walk, writing time, a coffee in the main plaza, and the aforementioned pintxos (usually accompanied by txakoli). My partner joined me for 3 weeks and he would add afternoon naps to that list. We had many potluck dinners at the Residencia Antia, where we shared offerings from the Saturday market, discussed local and international politics, and made plans for weekend hikes and excursions to other parts of Basque country. Fortunately the Residence stayed cool despite the heat wave, but we were still happy to discover the local swimming hole, Usako. We were also fortunate to experience several local festivals, including Corpus Christi. I felt a true sense of belonging when I was whacked by a cabezudo wearing a rooster head in the plaza.
My writing project while at the Institute was a paper on myths and stereotypes about domestic violence, which I presented in July at the International Congress on Feminism, Law and Citizenship at L'Institut des sciences juridique et philosophique de la Sorbonne in Paris (for an earlier blog post on this work see here). Although the topic is a heavy one, the ability to think and write in the idyllic setting presented by Oñati was instrumental to the progress I made. I also valued the opportunity to discuss my research (and theirs) with people from a range of different legal system contexts.
There are many encounters that Zoom and other platforms allowed socio-legal scholars to approximate during the pandemic, but I am so grateful for the encounters I was able to have in person in Oñati this summer. Eskerrik asko to the Institute for making the dream of a Canadian socio-legal scholar a reality.
7TH GLOBAL MEETING ON LAW AND SOCIETY - OC PRESENTATIONS (PART 3)
3 Aug 2022 15:07 | María de los Ángeles Ramallo
7th Global Meeting on Law and Society. Abstracts of the papers presented by Members of the Oñati Community (PART 3).
Remember that if you have done a presentation at the Global Meeting and you want your abstract to be uploaded, you can contact mramallo@derecho.uba.ar.
The Interview as Text. Sharyn Roach Anleu and Kathy Mack (Flinders University)
The interview is often a preferred method to study emotion. Interviews can enable a far-reaching flow of consciousness, allow scope for reflexivity and provide opportunities for probing. However, the interview is not just an extraction of information. The process is a dynamic and interactional co-production and may entail emotional work for the interviewer and interviewee. Interviews also have limitations. They are conducted in an artificial situation, in which interviewees provide accounts, even justifications, of their actions and approaches. The interviewer/researcher cannot always gauge the alignment between an interviewee's description of a past situation and what they felt in the moment. We wish to explore two issues:
(i) Interviews about emotions can be difficult for those in legal settings, eg judicial officers, who frame their work as rational or cognitive, not emotional or feeling. Interviewees may not be used to thinking about emotions or may regard them only to be avoided or suppressed. Some judicial officers may perceive questions about emotion as personal and so intrusive. The interviewer might not be able to discern whether judicial officers are reticent to talk about emotion or whether they lack the language to do so.
(ii) Interviews have an important temporal dimension. An interview occurs and is recorded at one point in time. Later it is transcribed, and much later analyzed, perhaps several times in different ways and possibly by different readers/researchers. The interview as narrative or conversation becomes text. Its interactive nature shifts from interviewee and interviewer to the researcher(s) -- necessarily the interviewer -- who interprets the interview transcript, identify themes, and codes the text. This research process can be more akin to historical research that generates insight about emotion from documents.
Can the jihadist women speak? The construction of self-identity under totalitarian semantics. Wanda Capeller (Centro de Estudos Sociais da Universidade de Coimbra)
This reflection aims to analyze the complex conditions that determine desubjectivation process by which self-identity and self-image of European young women are reconstructed under the impact of totalitarian semantics and ideological rhetoric, what led them to join a pre-modern way of life in ISIS's patriarchal society. In terrorist community women have an ambiguous social role, on the one hand, a subaltern role of wife and mother devoted to the domestic space, and on the other hand, an active role in the community, notably as a combatant woman. After the fall of ISIS, in 2019, those women are living in Syria and Turkey's refugee camps, asking to return to their origins countries. These women are being heard by European political and judicial authorities? I will argue on two points, as follows: 1) jihadist propaganda as a powerful dispositive allowing the formation of subaltern subjectivity; 2) voiceless women facing European hesitant "return policies" to the rescue of jihadist women.
What Are Victim Impact Statements For? Susan A. Bandes (DePaul University College of Law)
In Payne v. Tennessee, the US Supreme Court upheld the admission of victim impact statements (VIS) on the ground that they provide valuable information to the sentencer. In the three decades since, two additional rationales for VIS have become ascendant: most prominently, a therapeutic rationale, and more recently, a public education rationale. In this article, I expand upon my critiques of the informational and therapeutic rationales in light of a growing body of empirical evidence about how VIS affect both sentencers and crime victims. Focusing on the powerful and viral VIS delivered at the Larry Nassar guilty plea hearings and the Brock Turner trial, I consider whether VIS can be defended as a vehicle for informing the public about the impact of crime—particularly crimes that are underenforced or poorly understood. I conclude that ultimately the current VIS regime arises from and reinforces an individualistic model of crime that is not well-suited to illuminating the scope or consequences of criminal behavior, particularly in multi-victim cases like those of Larry Nassar. More generally, I argue that there are fairer and more robust models for achieving the informational, healing, and educative goals that victim impact statements are meant to serve, and that these models may well require decoupling those goals from the narrow ambit of the criminal justice system.
Suggested Citation: Bandes, Susan A., What are Victim Impact Statements for? (June 08, 2022). 87 Brooklyn Law Review 1253 (2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4118829
The Interplay Between Customary Law on Inheritance in Southern Cameroons and the Human Rights Principle of Gender Non-Discrimination. Mirabelle Chi Epse Okezie (University of Tasmania)
Like most Sub-Saharan African countries, Cameroon runs a plural legal system which consists not only of western legal models introduced by the French and the British during colonialism, but also of municipal legislation and human rights principles, all existing side by side with a fragmentary system of norms based on native laws and customs – customary law. Among these rules, the relationship fostered between customary law and human rights principles is particularly characterized by tension, friction, and conflict, resulting from their divergent features. Customary law in Cameroon is imbued with a discriminatory structure that is highly patriarchal and disadvantageous to women, while human rights values, on the other hand, are imbued with humanity and usually advocate egalitarian principles that presuppose gender equality and non-discrimination between men and women. Under customary law in Southern Cameroons for example, women are regarded as legal minors who can only enjoy usufruct rights in property but can neither freely contract nor acquire and dispose of property, thus disempowering them in the area of inheritance.
Efforts to discourage such discriminatory customary laws include the adoption of the repugnancy and the incompatibility tests (Section 27(1) of the Southern Cameroons High Court Laws) in the enforcement of customary law by the ordinary courts in Southern Cameroon. However, these have only led to a divergence in customary laws rather than solve the problem. What the ordinary courts recognize as customary law is different from what the society including unofficial customary courts considers as such. This is because, when the ordinary courts reject the enforcement of a particular custom which is said to conflict with human rights values, nothing is done to further prevent the continuous observance of such customary law in society. Thus, because customary justice in Southern Cameroon is equally exercised by unofficial customary courts (local chiefs empowered to settle disputes using native laws and customs) which tend to be more widely used in most rural and poor urban areas, the observance of discriminatory customary laws and practices remains a huge problem and warrants attention. This article focuses on the interplay between customary law on inheritance in the Southern part of Cameroon and the human rights principle of gender non-discrimination.
My stay in Oñati as Visiting Scholar
1 Aug 2022 10:04 | Anna Di Ronco
I visited Oñati in March this year during my research leave. My hope was to be able to write my book on the policing of eco-justice movements in a tranquil and intellectually stimulating environment. In my two-week stay I did progress with my writing but also did much more than that: I enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere of the gorgeous library, had amazing walks in the nature around Oñati, and connected with the other Visiting Scholars and Master Students at the residence. During my second week I also went to Donostia-San Sebastián to meet Gema Varona (also in the Oñati Community) and gave a lecture in her course at the University of the Basque Country. During my stay, I also visited Vitoria-Gasteiz (the Country's capital) and Zarautz (at the seaside). I travelled around the region mostly by bus, which gave me the chance to chat with people and appreciate their generosity and attachment to their beautiful Country. I won't elaborate on the regional food but, as everyone knows, it is remarkable (I loved the pintxos!!). Overall, I very much enjoyed my stay and felt enriched by it - and I will definitely come back again in the future, should the opportunity arise.
My book 'Policing, Social Control and Environmental Activism: Power and Resistance in Urban Struggles for Eco-Justice' will be published by Bristol University Press next year.
27 Jul 2022 15:23 | María de los Ángeles Ramallo
7th Global Meeting on Law and Society. Abstracts of the papers presented by Members of the Oñati Community (2nd part)
Judicial Dialogues and the Rule of Law. Joxerramon Bengoetxea (University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU and Oñati IISL)
My contribution is based on a recently published monograph that analyzes judicial dialogue, locating it in judicial governance studies and research on the Judiciary-. It proposes an innovative taxonomic typology of judicial dialogues. The presentation for the Lisbon Conference focuses on its European dimension, especially when a clash appears between the Rule of Law in different legal systems. This is the question of primacy, and gives rise to the debate on Constitutional Pluralism. Judicial Dialogue has sometimes been presented as a possible remedy to the clashes (the rage) produced by alternative claims of supremacy (and sovereignty).
A sort of constitutional pluralism has emerged in the EU following the doctrine of the primacy of EU law, as the uniform law of the Union, and the reactions against this doctrine originating in some national courts and juridical circles. This is not a new phenomenon and Neil MacCormick coined the theory of mild or soft constitutional pluralism to understand it. Pluralist predicaments are hard to reconcile with hierarchical and pyramidal Western legal theory, and this tension is likely to create stress for national legal and judicial cultures and national constitutionalism.
Amongst the strategies developed by jurists to deal with this tension like comity, subsidiarity, margin of appreciation, local standards, conform interpretation, indirect effect, horizontal effects of fundamental rights, effet utile, or national constitutional identity, this contribution focuses on judicial dialogues.
The concept, typology and functions of "judicial dialogue" and the methodology and sociolegal and jurisprudential theories required for their analysis and appraisal show their potential in dealing with the stress of competing claims and clashes on who has the competence over competence (K-K). To analyze judicial dialogue, it is necessary to address justice from a constitutional and socio-legal governance perspective, where the social sciences complement the legal analysis, based on the institutional theory of law (MacCormick).
The rapprochement between sociology and legal theory uses a realist concept of law as an institutional normative order(ing), which addresses norms and conflicts within the realm of practical reason. A hermeneutic understanding is necessary to understand Judges and Judging —as a power and as an institution— and the practice of judicial dialogue, and requires an epistemology that overcomes the dialectical tension between legal sociology and dogmatic theories of law. Open to Justice and to the theories of the Judiciary, as its institutional manifestation, this approach explains Judicial dialogue as an epiphenomenon or side effect of Justice, as a power and as a field.
Law, politics and justice are intertwined, as public forums of Practical Reason, something that reveals the difficult cases that are settled in the judicial vertices (apex), raising instances of judicial dialogue, of all sorts. The rich diversity of judicial dialogues calls for a systematic focus on the different categories of judicial dialogue in Europe.
Ultimately, the legal culture of the judicial, constitutional and juridical communities involved will determine their success or failure in tackling such stressful situations of contestation of authority.
Bridging Legal Theory and Socio-Legal Studies in the Iberian context. Joxerramon Bengoetxea (University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU and Oñati IISL)
My presentation has three points. The first deals with epistemic communities. The second with marginality of sociolegal knowledge.
As regards epistemic communities, while there is there is no centre of any significant size in Spain, comparable to eg Lund's Department of Sociology of Law, or to Coimbra, there is the interesting case of the Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law, and its Master, Workshops, Publñications, Visiting Schemes and Master, and the Oñati Community virtual network of sociolegal scholars; and there are some centers where sociolegal studies are carried out with that label (Barcelona, Zaragoza, Carlos III Universities, or Girona for Legal Cultures). There are interesting studies in different legal disciplines, away from traditional dogmatics. Especially the development of criminology and economic analysis of law. But this is not systematic. The Spanish law degree syllabus does not give any weight to Law & Society, nor Law & Economics for that matter. Only under the cloak of Legal Theory can Sociology of Law have a presence. Even less so regarding the professional Master for Law School Practice, or that for the School of the Judiciary. Still much to be done.
Secondly, the marginality, critical focus and exclusion of sociolegal theory in the formation of the internal legal culture. There are two major gaps in Spanish legal education: sociolegal studies and comparative law. Big challenge for Jurisprudence and Legal Theory. Even Legal Theory (Jurisprudence) or Legal History are marginal disciplines. There could be many more bridges between the marginal legal subjects. Behind these disciplinary confrontations there are issues of power, and sites of research; for instance what sort of career paths are open to researchers and who decides on the law curriculum? Who is in charge of granting access to the legal professions and what is studied there? Law departments, Law Faculties v Law Schools, State exam for legal practice, Access to Judicial school, and similar issues. L&S has some presence at the earlier formative years, as marginal as history, comparative law, or Jurisprudence.
Thirdly, the need for bridges between Jurisprudence and Sociology of Law, is to be found in the need for a solid conceptual foundation and in awareness of law in action.How far apart are L&S v Jurisprudence? Is it possible to build bridges?
1. specific topics legal theory and sociolegal studies allowing for convergence: bioethics, criminology and punishment, the market (labour and property), coloniality, and so many more
2. approaches to law-making (drafting), and judicial decision-making; collaboration between legal theory, political science, sociolegal studies is possible and can yield very useful results
3. the more philosophical issues: here is where I detect the greatest gap. Analytical jurisprudence has sometimes gone very formal, and sociolegal studies very specific and casuistic, almost dictated by the rigours of research methods, which consider theoretical issues are not sociolegal. Bridges are necessary here, much more interaction, more feedback between the disciplines, also with comparative law, legal geography and legal history.
The Cartography of repression: an analysis of the clash with the drugs trade in the city of Curitiba. Laís Gorski (Centro de Estudos Sociais da Universidade de Coimbra, CES-UC)
The study seeks to demonstrate the main problems raised by the paradigm of Political Sociology in the Penal Field, namely in the sphere of the dysfunctionalities and the structural contradictions in the systems of penal persecution, to be revisited in Brazil in light of the very application of the current criminal legislation. To do so, we propose a critical reflection on prisons notorious for the crime of drug trafficking, before analyzing data obtained by means of observations and empirical studies carried out at the 2nd Police Station of the City of Curitiba in Paraná. The data collected on the police's activities points to a selectivity in criminal prosecution across different levels, to have invariably led to the individualization of certain punishable social groups.
"After Speaking With the Judge, My Enrollment Fee Was Paid": the Use of Constitutional Remedies in Colombia's Educational System and Transformative Law in Latin America. Markus Ciesielski (Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen)
Latin America is characterized by extreme social inequalities since colonial times. Education alleviated extreme poverty. Nevertheless, education is not reducing substantially the economic, cultural, and ethnic disadvantages of historically marginalized actors and communities. Racial and gender discriminations persist although education is a mostly region-wide justiciable fundamental right. This leaves unresolved a central topic of socio-legal scholars: The social transformation through law. I argue that a constructivist approach is necessary for research on the transformative effects of law. My argument relies on an exploratory study on the Colombian acción de tutela. The tutela is a frequently used remedy for fundamental rights (Lehoucq and Taylor 2020). It is commonly used by marginalized actors. I will present a qualitative analysis based on about 30 semi-structured interviews conducted in 2021. Interviews were selected out of over 140 case files provided by Colombian courts. I interviewed students from ethnically diverse regions. They claimed the right to education between 2016 and 2020. The analysis of the qualitative interview data shows transformative effects of law. Students reconstruct imaginaries of educational inequalities by using the tutela-remedy. Tutela-related events like the phone call of a judge or the tutela-sentence can support but also undermine what students expect from their education. Colleges, universities, public-school administrations, and institutions for scholarships become actors in these imaginaries on the right to education. With these findings I suggest supplementing existing research on legal transformation. The results underline the importance of concepts like habitus, legal framing, and legal consciousness. These concepts contribute to a critical examination of the use of legal remedies by historically marginalized actors and communities in the global south.
Into the Looking Glass: The Construction of Absence in Law and Legal Education. Annette Lansink (University of Venda, South Africa)
This paper examines the renewed calls for the decolonisation of law and legal education in South Africa. It discusses the process of deconstructing legal knowledge and valorising subjugated African knowledges as an act of epistemological liberation and transformation without essentialising identities. It does so, aligned to the conference theme of rage, reckoning and remedy, within the context of reconciliation and the lacunae in the implementation of transitional justice. The paper further endeavours to examine how legal knowledge can be contextualised and respond to the social realities of communities without losing sight of the contemporary imperative of internationalisation in a global world. This paper accordingly argues that universities should engage the legitimate calls for decolonisation and address issues of epistemic justice in a poly-epistemic and transcultural world as a way of redressing the constructed absences of African knowledges and experiences in law and legal education.
7th Global Meeting on Law and Society - OC Presentations
The 7th Global Meeting on Law and Society took place in Lisbon from July 13 to 16. Members of the Oñati Community participated in different sessions presenting their research. Here are some of the abstracts of the papers presented:
Translocal legalities: local encounters with transnational law. Marisa N. Fassi (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina), together with Matthew Canfield, Giulia Fabini, Emma Nyhan and Mariana Prandini
The presentation was based on an article published in Transnational Legal Theory, which presents what we term translocal legalities –emergent forms of normativity constituted through grounded encounters with local and transnational legal practices, discourses, subjectivities, resistance. We shift the gaze of transnational legal scholarship away from a top-down mapping of the structures of global law, towards the situated forms of legality that are produced as legal norms from different scales and contexts circulate, interact, and encounter one another. Analyzing the phenomenology of the encounter, we develop an analytical and empirical approach to understanding these encounters by focusing on how law is constituted not solely within traditional legal organizations and institutions, but through the everyday practices, discourses, subjectivities of those mediating local, national and transnational norms.
For access to the full article, click here.
Fostering a methodological "evergreen": the Socratic debate into educational environments and public contexts. A practice to forge a more participatory, honest, and responsible society. Ivan Daldoss (Università degli Studi di Padova)
My contribution shows a methodological path to improve the educational environments through a specific linguistic practice, namely, the debate, conceived as a regulated relationship between opposing parties. Firstly, its great similarities with the game of chess stand out. Indeed, every chess match is played according to predetermined rules and within clear boundaries: the chessboard is the only space where black and white pieces can interact dialectically. Similarly, during a debate, opposite theses clash to confront their best arguments and thus identify which position is the prevailing one. Secondly, in the wake of this parallel, the purpose of implementing educational processes through the Socratic debate finds inspiration in concrete learning experiences: the specific case of a debating tournament is illustrated, recently held in digital form, which has been involving Italian high school students and teachers for over a decade, registering considerable participation and results. Starting from similar realities, my paper holds that new educational avenues can be imagined and developed both in higher educational institutions –such as universities– and public contexts as well, precisely because the debate is one of the 'best practices' to be promoted for the creation of stimulating environments. Thirdly, the article particularly argues for the need to exercise Socratic debate as a method to reach a personal dimension of truth –the goal of 'Parrhesia'– and thus make rationally based decisions ('choice-based learning'). Its dialectical dynamic allows for a selective comparison among the various linguistic alternatives at stake. Moreover, the 'socratically oriented' debate is presented to be the ideal tool for developing in those who experiment with it a sense of community belonging, as well as a set of skills that are increasingly relevant for social participation and the public dimension of existence ('soft skills'). Furthermore, this kind of practice favors the emergence of mediative spaces ('common grounds') between the positions involved in the dialectical contest, thus contributing to building a more inclusive and pluralist society. Hence, the Socratic debate is displayed as a fundamental approach to forging a more participatory, honest, and responsible society.
Women prosecuted for terrorism in the Basque Country: Deconstructing judicial, media, and NGOs discourse from a feminist perspective. Malena Maceira (Universidad de Buenos Aires)
The aim of my research is to observe how 'women terrorists' are produced as subjects by existing discourses (Foucault, 1986) and if that production implies an extra element of punishment in the convictions that these women obtain. The production of subjects was observed through the critical analysis of discourses such as the ones that the justice system produces, the media, or the statements published by victims of terrorism's organizations.
In the research, I selected three cases where women took part in events that were –and still are, with nuances– considered political violent acts or acts of terrorism. By using Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (Lazar, 2007) I gathered judges' rulings from the Audiencia Nacional and the Tribunal Supremo in Spain that involved these three women. As well, as newspaper articles from four newspapers (two regional from the Basque country and two at the national level). Finally, I gathered the victims of terrorism's organizations statements that were made regarding these three women.
As for the findings of the research I have obtained strong evidence that women are produced as subjects that are located remotely from the idea of subject 'women' without the element of violence. It seems to prevail the idea that women are no capable to exercise violence without being considered as a monstrosity. This viewpoint is more nuanced in the rulings but very much openly debated within the newspapers articles and even more when observing the victims' organizations. In addition, I can say that in part, the extra component of punishment that society applies to women that are considered 'deviant' exists, and it is easily observed through how the media reflects on the amount years of punishment that these women received.
Therefore, from this starting point, I believe that further discussions remain regarding how these women are convicted and in which way their conviction is being executed. This translates into a research project that would shed light on the execution of punishment from a feminist perspective.
Specters of Abolition: A Decolonial Reading of Slavery, Race and Law in Catalonia. Deo Szpiga (International Institute for the Sociology of Law, UPV/EHU)
My paper presents the main arguments and findings of my Master's dissertation. I examine the contribution of Catalonia to the production of the current modern/colonial world-system. Through a genealogical analysis, and from postcolonial and poststructuralist epistemologies, I take the case of Catalan participation in the transatlantic slave trade to reveal how law and coloniality have co-produced a triumphalist narrative of abolition and end of slavery, while simultaneously (re)producing the ontological coloniality that was the basis for slavery in the first place, and concealing its contemporary continuities. In this sense, understanding law as a dispositif which produces subjects of colonial governmentality, thus justifying the dispossession and appropriation of knowledges, resources, and bodies in the Global South; the same technologies that, coincidentally and since late-modernity, have been employed by the imperial-colonial Spanish regime to constitute and perpetuate the status of Catalonia as a stateless nation. The paper is structured in four main axes, with a single unifying thread (i.e. the relationalities between race, power, and law): 1) law as a race-making regime; 2) slavery and the law; 3) abolition and emancipation in the 19th century; and, finally, 4) law as abolition. In this context, the interrogations that drive the dissertation are the following: 1) What role did the law play in creating, defining, and sustaining the Manichean subjectivities of slave/slave owner, colonized/colonizer?; 2) Why did the formal abolition of slavery and the slave trade through law fail to put an end to such practices?; 3) What are the paradoxes and myths of law-as-abolition, and which interests did law as a discourse of abolition serve?; 4) How does Catalonia, specifically, fit into these contradictory ontological modalities, being —at times inconcurrently, at times simultaneously— both a colonizing power and a colonized people itself?
The coloniality of international law: The Agreement between Argentina and the IMF as a case study to critically rethink the relationship between law, power and politics. Juan Martín Liotta (International Institute for the Sociology of Law (UPV/EHU), Universidad de Buenos Aires)
My presentation shares to my Sociology of Law master´s dissertation. I seek to contribute to the critical legal studies on international law and colonialism. I focus my analysis on the agreement signed between Argentina and the IMF in July 2018. This agreement has been strongly criticized for being contrary to the institution`s regulations and for supporting presidential electoral chances of a political party in 2019.
I use this Agreement, as a case study to argue that international law legitimizes and reproduces neocolonial relations between Global North and Global South states. This research is guided by the following questions: what role does international law play in regulating relations between states in the global North and South? How does transnational actors manage to impose their private interest and reflect them into public policies?
From a postcolonial and poststructuralist understanding of law and power, I will refer to Enrique Mari´s body of work. Especially to his concept of law as a part of a dispositif that legitimizes and reproduces power relations. I further highlight the "colonial legacies" of modern law. This is, during the last centuries, law evolved pierced by political and social context of colonial expansion and adopted the strategic function of legitimizing these relations. The legal discourses reflect an ideology which aims to perpetuate dynamics of power and dominance that favor Global North states, transnational private actors and local elites. In this context, the International Monetary Fund played a necessary and key role since de 1970s in imposing neoliberal policies in Global South states, promote a transnational governance and reduce local sovereignty. The rulemakers role was then adopted by private actors, according to its own interests. This process had as a consequence the privatization of democracy.
The case study will be helpful to notice how this process has placed in the Argentinean context in the 21st century. I aim to reveal how international law adapts itself to legitimize neocolonial domination.
Pluralism of sources and human rights of children and adolescents. Laura Lora (Instituto Ambrosio L. Gioja, Universidad de Buenos Aires).
Following the 1994 constitutional reform in Argentina, Article 75, paragraph 17 of the Constitution establishes that Congress has the power to "recognize the ethnic and cultural pre-existence of Argentina's indigenous peoples" and "guarantee respect for their identity". It follows that the culture and, therefore, the identity of such communities must be safeguarded and that there is not only a legal interest in this, but also a constitutional interest. And, obviously, this culture can be manifested through written (laws) or unwritten (customs) norms.
Likewise, Article 75, paragraph 22 grants Constitutional hierarchy to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, which in its Article 3, paragraph 1, establishes that "In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration".
I propose to reflect on the narratives of rights based on a concrete case involving the human rights of a girl living in a Wichi community in Tartagal, where the conduct of a member was judged, accused of having repeated carnal access with his stepdaughter, since her menarche, which took place when she was 9 or 11 years old, and whom he impregnated a year later.
If you have done a presentation at the Global Meeting and you want your abstract to be uploaded, you can contact mramallo@derecho.uba.ar.
New Trends in Online Crime Longitudinal Research on Platforms to Lure Minors
5 Jul 2022 09:17 | Gonzalo Torquemada
The digital industry has developed substantially since the beginning of the 21st century with new tools, such as social networking sites (SNSs) and apps, providing new scenarios for criminality sometimes difficult to recognize due to their digital nature. Additionally, social media has swiftly gained access to data traditionally managed by police departments, transferring it to a more public sphere. Therefore, a better understanding of these digital dynamics, not often seen from either the mental health or criminal perspectives, is needed. This paper presents HUMANIZATECH (HTECH), an empirical longitudinal research (Dec. 2015–Dec. 2021) gathering systematic data from 174 police departments worldwide on the criminal use of SNSs and apps against minors. The main findings include 1) a profile of potential victims; 2) evidence of a swift move to more sophisticated criminal dynamics related to online child exploitation and abuse (OCSEA); 3) evidence of an evolution in the use of SNSs towards human trafficking; 4) a list of 58 platforms proved to be used for luring children and adolescents; and 5) a list of 23 more platforms used for minor offences, which are under the radar of law enforcement agencies. Through its research, HTECH has gathered specific information related to the above findings for a genuine understanding of the online modus operandi from the perspectives of the criminal mind and the underage user. These will contribute to designing accurate resources for strategies by law enforcement agencies (intervention) and families (prevention). UPDATED MARCH 22.
Keywords: Police, SNSs, Apps, Minors, Cybercrime, OCSEA, Grooming, Trafficking. https://www.cybercrimejournal.com/IJCC-3-2021%20UPDATE%20FINAL-1.pdf
Sociolegal scholars of the Oñati Community agree on a statement condemning Russian aggression on Ukraine
12 Mar 2022 21:22 | Susana Arrese (Administrator)
Sociolegal scholars of the OC agree on a statement condemning Russian aggression on Ukraine
The Russian Federation's war on Ukraine and its terror attacks against civilians violate fundamental principles of law and humanity, breach Human Rights and constitute an act of aggression that should be the subject of international prosecution and indictment. As socio-legal scholars, we recognize the inherent dignity and inalienable rights of all members of the human family to be the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world. Expansionist attacks against democratic states, and denial of the right of self-determination of peoples all violate basic requirements of justice and international law.
The Russian attack on Ukraine, ordered by President Putin further displays a manifest disdain for the values of democracy, the rule of law and the dignity of human beings. The victims of this aggression also include brave Russian citizens who demonstrate against the war and reporters who dare tell the truth about the atrocities committed by the Putin dictatorship and face flagrant Human Rights violations but the serious victims are Ukranians and all civilians living in Ukraine. The war and its consequences threaten to destroy the basis for meaningful international cooperation.
As scholars we have the duty to recognize and raise awareness about the fact that violations of international law and military aggressions have happened in other countries, and to stand against all breaches of international law, and all violations of human rights and against the use of violence and military aggression in international relations. We therefore join the many voices demanding an immediate stop to Russian aggression, a withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine's territory and the search for a diplomatic, peaceful, and politically sustainable solution of the crisis. We extend our profound sympathy to our colleagues in Ukraine, thinking very particularly of Yuriy Fedkovich Czernivtsi University, a historic symbol of our discipline, where Ehrlich developed sociology of law, to the people of Ukraine, and to the victims of Russian aggression.
(Adam Czarnota-Poland;Aida Araceli Patiño-Mexico;Alejandro Celorio-Mexico;Alexander Kondakov-Russia;Alfred Hill-Liberia;Andrés Hernandez-Colombia;Ana Vaideanu-Romania;Andrew Goldsmith-Australia;Angela Melville-Australia;Anna Lundberg-Sweden;Anne Wallace-Australia;Annette Lansink-SouthAfrica;Antonio Rodrigues de Freitas-Brazil;Bart van Klink-The Netherlands;Ben Semple-Northern Ireland;Blacej Kaucz-Ireland;C Ernesto Gonzalez Zarate-Mexico;Carlos Lista-Argentina;Carlos Perette-Argentina;Carolyn Mckay-Australia;Colin Sumner-UK;David Wexler-Puerto Rico;Deborah Brock-Canada;Dolores Morondo-Spain;Dota Szyborska-Poland;Elijah Tukwariba Yin-Ghana;Eugenia Relaño Pastor-Spain;Fátima el Fakih-Venezuela;Fernando Tapia-Spain;Fiammetta Bonfigli-Italy/Brazil;Filip Cyunczyk-Poland;Francesca Scamardella-Italy;Gabriela Farinha-Portugal;Gema Varona-Spain;Giovanni Torrisi-Italy;Grazyna Skapska-Poland;Heike Jung-Germany;Ihintza Palacin-France;Iker Nabaskues-;Ilse Griek-the Netherlands;Jacek Kurczewski-Poland;Jason Keith Fernandes-India;Javier de Lucas-Spain;Jernej Letnar-Slovenia;Jill Hunter-Australia;Jiri Priban-UK/Czechia;Johannes Feest-Germany;John Brigham-USA;Jose Maria Sauca-Spain;Joxerramon Bengoetxea-Spain;Karolina Kocemba-Poland;Kiyoshi Hasegawa-Japan;Kristina Cufar-Slovenia;Laura María Melián-Spain;Letizia Mancini-Italy;Linda della Raggione-Italy;Lucero Ibarra-Mexico;Luigi Cominelli-Italy;Lukasz Bojarski -Norway;Maciej Pichlak-poland;Maggy Barrere-Spain;Marcin Wróbel-Poland;Marije Mesonero-Spain;Martin Ramstedt-Germany;Masayuki Murayama-Japan;Mavis Maclean-UK;Michal Peno-Poland;Michal Stambulski-Poland;Monjuriul Ahsan-Bangladesh;Nick Frijns-The Netherlands;Nicola Giampietro-Italy;Nikolaos Intzesiloglou-Greece;Nkoli Aniekwu-Nigeria;Noe Galizia-Mexico;Paula Gisele Pelaez-Argentina;Peter Alldridge-UK;Peter Brezina-Czech Republic;Phoebe Heilig-Canada;Pierre Guibentif-Portugal;Ramiro Avila-Ecuador;Ramon Flecha-Spain;Ricardo Leon Pastor-Peru;Richard Lempert-USA;Rogelio Perez Perdomo-Venezuela;Roger Cotterrell-UK;Sara Ramshaw-Canada;Sarah Blandy-UK;Sharyn Roach Anleu-Australia;Silvana Begala - Argentina;Susanne Karstedt-Germany;Stefanie Khoury-UK;Stephan Parmentier-Belgium;Susana Arrese-Spain;Susana Santos-Portugal;Tamar Pitch-Italy;Tanya Monforte-USA;Teresa Picontó Novales-Spain;Ulrike Schultz_Germany;Valeria Verdolini-Italy;Viacheslav Tuliakov -Ukraine;Victoria Capriles-Venezuela;Vincenzo Ferrari-Italy;William L.F. Felstiner-USA;Wladimir L. R. Dias-Brazil;Xabier Arana-;Xabier Fernandez-Spain;Yordanka Bekirska-Bulgaria)


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Taste of Cinema - Movie Reviews and Classic Movie Lists > Lists > Film Lists > 15 Cult Horror Comedies You Might Not Have Seen
15 Cult Horror Comedies You Might Not Have Seen
Posted on June 19, 2016 June 19, 2016 by Raul J. Vantassle
The combination of horror and comedy may seem like a relatively new cinematic concept with the virtual explosion of the subgenre during the 1980's all the way up to now, but it actually originated with the silent film era. One of the first to mix both elements was a now lost picture called The Ghost Breaker (1914).
Some others that were released during that era include One Exciting Night (1922), The Headless Horseman (1922), and The Bat (1924). It would seem that both of these elements would work well together as they require the viewer to suspend belief and enter a world of fantasy. They also provide the viewer with more than one type of experience by being sent on a rollercoaster of emotions, laughing one minute and screaming the next.
There are various examples through each decade. The 1930's saw films like The Bat Whispers (1930), Sh! The Octopus (1937), and the beginning of comedy team ups with Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard in The Cat and the Canary (1939). The 1940's and 1950's saw more comedy duos getting involved in horror settings, most notably the series of movies in which Abbot and Costello meet the various iconic Universal monsters characters.
The 1960's had low budget producer Roger Corman come up with Little Shop of Horrors (1960) and several other horror-comedies, while British studios spoofed the genre with What a Carve-Up! (1961) and The Horror of it All (1963). There were also the dark humored Vincent Price horror pictures that were based on Edgar Allen Poe stories, as well as other ones that ended up carrying on into the 1970's.
The 1970's was an era that brought on the more exploitative movies often featuring nudity, gore, and sometimes a little music with the likes of The Horror of Frankenstein (1970), Flesh for Frankenstein (1973), Blood for Dracula, Young Frankenstein (1974), and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975).
The 1980's was when the subgenre truly exploded as there were more production studios copying what was popular and there was also more of a demand in the market with the popularity of video rentals. This included a slew of movies such as An American Werewolf in London, Ghostbusters, Gremlins, Fright Night, Return of the Living Dead, Re-Animator, Evil Dead, Toxic Avenger, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, and so many more.
There were many more through the 1990's and 2000's such as Dead Alive, Scream, and Shaun of the Dead. Many of the iconic horror characters such as Freddy Krueger and Chucky have become more comedic over time. The subgenre is still going strong with the likes of Final Girls, Deathgasm, Cooties, Dead Snow, and What We Do in the Shadows.
This list contains a little bit of everything, with at least one film from every decade between 1940 and 1990. This list is a varied collection of cult films and trashy pictures; all ranging between being critically hailed, being exploitative and controversial, and being considered so bad that they are great.
[Author's Note: This list is not meant to be an all inclusive list or a best of list; it is simply fifteen cult movies that may be worth your time.]
1. Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
"Jeepers! The creepers are after Bud and Lou!" [1]. Abbot and Costello play freight handlers delivering several packages that are supposed to contain wax figures of Dracula (Bela Lugosi) and Frankenstein (Glen Strange) to a local house of horrors. But it turns out that they are actually alive and Dracula is trying to resurrect Frankenstein with a new brain.
The Wolfman (Lon Chaney Jr.) shows up in order to try and stop Dracula from succeeding in his diabolical plans. The end features an appearance from the Invisible Man voiced by Vincent Price.
It silliness meets horror in this horror comedy spoof of the Universal monsters series. This was the first of seven movies in which the comedy duo would meet famous Universal characters, and it is widely considered the comedy duos best film and one of the quintessential horror-comedy pictures. It provides great comedy scenes that are truly funny and horror scenes that would have been considered truly scary at the time.
The monsters play true to their characters and don't get into any burlesque or comedic dialogue except for one scene with Frankenstein being frightened by Lou Costello's character. Other than that, the integrity of the monsters is maintained and they play their roles straight like they had done in their previous pictures.
2. Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952)
"Brooklyn Chumps Become Island Monkeys in a Jungle Full of Laffs!" [2]. A pair of entertainers falls out of a plane on their way to perform at a war show and end up on an island in the Pacific Ocean. There they meet a primitive tribe and also a mad scientist (Bela Lugosi) located one on the island that ends up turning one of them into a gorilla. Horror, comedy and musical numbers ensue.
The film is notable for the appearance of the comedic team of Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo, who were imitating the musical comedy team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Petrillo resembled Lewis and had been imitating him in gigs and eventually joined up with Mitchell, who could sing, to perform at clubs and in Las Vegas.
This was the only movie that they would pair as a duo together, but both would go on to make a series of pictures. Martin and Lewis were reportedly furious over the team imitating them and threatened to sue.
A deal had been discussed about selling the negative to Paramount Pictures so that they could destroy it, but that deal never ended up happening and it was released. Lugosi hadn't done much work since appearing in Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein in 1948. He had been ill at the time of production and was known to have an addiction to morphine, but was said to have conducted himself professionally on the set.
3. A Bucket of Blood (1959)
"You'll be sick, sick, and sick – from laughing!" [3]. Dick Miller stands out in his lone starring role as a ridiculed busboy at a Bohemian café that is frequented by local artists. When he accidentally kills his landlady's cat, he covers it in plaster and calls it a sculpture titled "Dead Cat." The artists hail him as a genius and he proceeds to kill off people in order to create new work.
This was director Roger Corman's first black comedy and it was shot quickly over five days on a $50,000 budget. His next project would be the comedy Little Shop of Horrors, which was shot in only two days. The film is in the public domain and had a remake released in 1995 and a musical production that took place in Chicago in 2009.
4. Spider Baby (1967)
"Spider Baby will give you nightmares forever!" [4]. This is a dark-horror comedy about the caretaker Bruno (Lon Chaney Jr.) who cares for three orphaned siblings who suffer from a disease that makes them mentally, socially, and physically regress when they start to reach puberty.
The three siblings all act in unusual ways. Ralph (Sid Haig) cannot speak and uses leers and grunts to communicate. He moves around the house using a dumb-waiter. Virginia (Jill Banner) is obsessed with spiders, walking around like a spider and stalking bugs and other unsuspecting victims.
Bruno had been able to keep the siblings exploits a secret up until a group of distant relatives show up with a lawyer and his secretary to kick them out of their home. Then the trio shows how demented and dangerous they are when they attack the unsuspecting victims in various gruesome and disturbing ways.
This is basically the more insane and weirder version of the Addams Family, with some awesome performances from Chaney, Haig, and Banner. Because of bankruptcy issues with the production company, this wasn't released until after Chaney had died who gives one of the greatest performances of his career. Chaney also performed the theme song, which was meant to be a parody of "Monster Mash."
It is widely considered director Jack Hill's masterpiece, who was responsible for such cult hits as The Big Doll House, The Big Bird Cage, Coffy, Foxy Brown, and The Swinging Cheerleaders. The picture didn't do well initially and went through multiple title changes, being billed as The Liver Eaters, Attack of the Liver Eaters, Cannibal Orgy, and The Maddest Story Ever Told.
5. Theatre of Blood (1973)
"It's curtains for his critics!" [5]. Shakespearian actor Edward Lionheart (Vincent Price) takes revenge on all of the critics who gave him bad reviews. After he kills each critic, he recites lines from Shakespeare plays.
This one is just dark campy fun. Vincent Price is hilarious in what he had "often cited …as one of his favorite films" [6]. Because of such a great script, the producers were also able to get "some of the best actors in England for supporting roles" [6]. There is blood and gore in this, including a memorable scene involving a critic having to eat his pet poodles. If you like Vincent Price or black comedies than this is essential viewing.
6. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1978)
"A New Musical-Comedy-Horror Show" [7]. This is a totally insane horror spoof that you'll either find totally hilarious or totally ridiculous. Somehow tomatoes have become sentient beings and are going around killing people.
The government puts together a special team to investigate that includes the leader Mason Dixon, a disguise expert that dresses up as Abraham Lincoln, Adolf Hitler, and George Washington among others, a navy diver that's wearing diving gear, an Olympic swimmer, and a parachuting soldier.
It's ridiculous and dumb Airplane style humor at its best, featuring a great opening theme song, multiple musical numbers, a spoof of the Jaws water attack, tomatoes killing and attacking people, a big helicopter crash, ridiculous dialogue, tons of little jokes and bits, a spoof of Lois Lane and Clark Kent, and so much more. The popularity of this film led to three more sequels, a television cartoon series, and several video games.
7. Piranha (1978)
"Then… you were shocked by the great white shark – Now… you are at the mercy of 1000 jaws!" [8]. This was a rip off and somewhat spoof of Jaws from Producer Roger Corman's production company New World Pictures, mixing elements of horror and comedy. In this version, piranha that have been bioengineered by the army are accidently released into a river and terrorize a kids camp and resort. A drunk and a skip tracer are the only people trying to stop them from killing more people.
This has to be one of the best of the Jaws rip off films, combining horror, jokes, comedic dialogue, some stop motion animation, violence, blood, nudity, and some gore. They are able to achieve scares and intensity with quick cuts and the music. There are many elements from the Jaws movie that are used in this; including an opening nude swimming scene, a person getting killed on a small fishing pier, showing the underwater viewpoint of the fish, a guy in a canoe attacked, and a large group of people being attacked in the water.
It was written by John Sayles, who would go on to become a prolific director. It was one of the first films directed by Joe Dante, who would go on to direct The Howling and the Gremlins films. It featured minor appearances by Kevin McCarthy, Dick Miller, Paul Bartel, and Barbara Steele.
Universal Studios were going to sue New World for spoofing Jaws, but dropped the lawsuit after Steven Spielberg saw a pre-screening of the film and loved it [8]. The piranha effects were done using rubber fish that were attached to poles [8]. The film was shot over thirty days on a budget of $660,000 and ended up being one of New World Pictures most successful films [8].
There is an in joke at the beginning of the movie when the female lead is playing on a Jaws arcade videogame. The poster for Piranha is pretty much a replica of the original jaws poster, with a giant piranha going after a woman that is partially in the water.
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In most Canadian cities, you still have to let your fingers do the walking to find the right number to call about a city service. But by the time they walk through the pages and pages of blue book listings, chances are your fingers will be worn to the bone. That's why a growing number of Canadian cities are following the lead of their U.S. counterparts in offering citizens much-improved access to municipal services via a 311 system.311, which is essentially a one-stop-shopping number for municipal government services, has long been in place in U.S. cities such as Baltimore, New York and Chicago.
Originally designed to reduce the number of non-emergency calls being made to 911, 311 has evolved to become a watershed in the modernization of city services. Citizens can call it for any municipal issue, ranging from reporting potholes to requesting city support services.
"We're seeing that trend not only across North America but extending around the globe," says Michael Jordan, a partner in Accenture's government practice.
In Canada, Calgary recently rolled out its 311 system, as has Windsor, Ont. and Gatineau, Que. As well, the Ontario municipalities of Hamilton, Halton Region and Toronto are all at various stages of the same process, as are the Quebec municipalities of Laval and Montreal. Halifax has also received a 311 licence, and a number of other municipalities have at least begun the process of call centre consolidation in anticipation of their own implementations.
For the City of Calgary, it was the need for improved customer satisfaction ratings, says Terry Pearce, manager of the city's citizen services. Customer service satisfaction surveys had consistently given the City of Calgary high marks, but there was always a 'but' statement, he says: people complained they had to wade through too many blue pages of listings to find the right department.
The City of Windsor, Ont., which debuted its 311 system in late August, has the same goals. Although it's a smaller-scale operation than Calgary's, Windsor, with a population of just over 300,000, has built some unique features into its 311 system.
For example, it is in the process of implementing a reverse 311 capability, which was due to be ready by last fall, and which will be integrated with the city's GIS system, says 311 project director Tom Malanfant. That means the city can select an area on the local map and the customer service software will generate a list of phone numbers that are in the database for the area. An auto-dialler will deliver a pre-recorded message to those people.
Windsor, which partnered with Enwin Utilities on the project, is using Motorola's contact centre software and Bell Canada as a service provider. The Motorola software works like an electronic table of contents, explains Malanfant.
All of the keywords on the city's existing web site have been indexed into a database and linked with the URL related to that information. Creating that database was the most labour-intensive part of the project, says Malanfant, but it was worth it.
"The knowledge base piece is by far the most complicated to implement but it's also the most rewarding in terms of what you can get for your customers," he says.
That depends on how well the city has managed its documentation in the past, though, warns Baltimore's Schlanger. "There is a difficult challenge in trying to provide automated tools to customer service agents to handle those types of request efficiently," says Schlanger. "One extreme is to solely rely on the expertise of the agents who have been with the city a long time, which sounds like a good idea, but you can never have enough of them to adequately cover the turf 24×7.
"The other side is there are a lot of technology purveyors who say (they) have very good search tools so (they) can give you a browser-based app where, if you put in a keyword, it will search all your city documentation and find the appropriate information that the customer service agent can recite to your caller.
But if 311 is the stepping stone to a more modern way of delivering municipal services, voice over IP is the path, according to some experts.
Brian Sharwood, principal with the SeaBoard Group, agrees.
Although the City of Mississauga, Ont., wasn't even contemplating a 311 system when it first embarked on its voice over IP project in late 2000, says Norm Baxter, project manager for the city's Cisco implementation, it would be easier to offer 311 with VoIP already in place. The municipality is looking at offering a 311 service, pending council approval of the IT department's business case, and is in the process of consolidating its 12 call centres, says Nancy Major, project director, call centre consolidation for the IT services division of Mississauga's corporate services department.
Major notes Mississauga is well-positioned for 311 because it already has call routing capabilities.
Although experts might disagree as to the outsourcing issue, most people who have worked on 311 projects agree that a step-by-step, rather than a big-bang, do it all at once approach works best.
Many municipalities start to move towards 311 by first implementing a single 10-digit number. The Town of Newmarket, Ont., for example, has created a single 10-digit number for the municipality's contact centre.
"We had about 65 points of contact through the phone when we started, and about 13 just within the town office for walk-in traffic," says Robert Prentice, Newmarket's director of corporate services. In addition to creating a call centre and a walk-in customer service centre, the municipality co-ordinated its efforts with its Web site to make sure the information provided was consistent in all channels. Newmarket uses Telus's CRM application HEAT, which allows the organization's phone and walk-in staff to create a service request in its database to pass it on to the people delivering the service, escalate it, and close the loop upon confirming completion of the transaction.
And while Prentice notes that the challenge of 311 is more the business process change than the technology, there are logistical challenges that regional governments face that single-tier governments like Calgary or Toronto don't.
That's because while the CRTC has ruled local telcos must provide 311 within six months to municipalities who ask for it, there is some fine print, notes Hines.
Success and government IT projects do not always go hand in hand. Nor do customer relationship management projects and success. In fact, some research firms have pegged CRM failure rates at as high as 70 per cent. But 311 projects – a large component of which is CRM – have mostly been seen as success stories wherever they have been put in place.
"One of the key success factors is having executive sponsorship both at the elected official level and at the senior official level, and for a 311 project that has to be there," Accenture's Michael Jordan says.
But some 311 project managers don't see 311 as a CRM project at all.
Although not everyone agrees on the CRM issue, most, it appears, see many of the same benefits to implementing a 311 system. But measuring those benefits can still be a major challenge. In the long run, citizen satisfaction ratings will tell the story. In the short run, though, municipalities will have to use the same metrics as private sector call centres use.
"One of the things we found here from the IT perspective is we had a lot of talent in the city," says Baltimore CIO Elliot Schlanger.
The IT department's job descriptions are not the only thing that a 311 project will change, though. There may be some operational efficiencies or cost avoidance through the consolidation of call centres, but 311 will most likely put huge pressures on municipalities as they struggle to meet service level demands, says Windsor's Malanfant. Departments are going to get more calls but they're not necessarily going to get more staff, he says. But, he notes, "The bottom line is we will have for the first time ever in our organization quantifiable objective evidence to give to city council to say here's how many calls we're getting on various service types and here's the service level we can meet. If they're happy, then nobody gets more budget, but if they say, 'no, it's not acceptable to deliver that service in a week, we think it should be delivered in a day,'" they can increase the resources to that department.


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Social media marketing on its own is free to use, as is content marketing if you're creating and managing the content yourself. Several email marketing platforms have free plans for your first few hundred or thousand subscribers, giving you time to get your revenue increasing before you have to start paying. There are even free keyword research tools like Google's Keyword Planner that can help you optimize your site at no cost.


text:
Chita Republic
This article is about the worker's republic during the Russian Revolution of 1905. For the Russian puppet state during the Russian Civil War, see Far Eastern Republic.
The chapel on the shooting spot.
The Chita Republic (Russian: Читинская республика) was a worker's republic in Chita, under control of the Soviet of Workers', Soldiers' and Cossaks' from 1905-1906. Chita, a city in eastern Siberia, Russia, and a place of exile for early revolutionaries and combatants of the Russo-Japanese War, was a center for worker unrest in the early 1900s. During the Russian Revolution of 1905 armed revolutionaries under the leadership of the RSDLP headed by Viktor Kurnatovsky[1] took control over the city and declared the Chita Republic in December 1905.[2]
The leaders of the republic tried to organize and establish administration in the city and its outskirts, and the new periodical Zabaykalsky Rabochy was issued in Chita on December 7, 1905, but the republic was fated to fail after the suppression of the uprisings in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Troops loyal to the regime, led by Paul von Rennenkampf and general Miller-Zakomelsky, were sent to suppress the rebellious territory; it was quickly subjugated and Chita was occupied by government troops on 22 January 1906.
"At the beginning of 1906 Kurnatovsky was again arrested and sentenced to death. General Rennenkampf, the pacifier of Siberia, carried the condemned man in his train so that he might witness with his own eyes the executions of workers at every railway station."[2]
The six leaders of the Chita Republic were shot on the slope of Titovsky sopka. Kurnatovsky's death sentence was later commuted to life-long exile to Siberia.[2] In the memory of the leaders of the Chita Republic, several central streets of Chita were named after them (Babushkina street, Kurnatovsky street, etc.).
↑ Krupskaya, Nadezhda Konstantinovna (1933). Reminiscences of Lenin.
1 2 3 Trotsky, Leon (28 October 2016). "Stalin – An Appraisal of the Man and his Influence". marxists.org. Retrieved 28 October 2016.


Does your child have a hard time transitioning from playtime to meal time?
Solution: Offer a well-timed snack, 2 hours earlier than dinnertime. Make sure the snack is balanced, with at least 2 food groups. See the article Two Simple Steps to Nutritious and Delicious Snacks. Check out these articles for great snack ideas specific for toddlers: Grab-n-go Snacks for Toddlers and Saving the Snack Emergency.
Problem: Your child is too tired to eat and too exhausted to tune in to their body's hunger cues. As tempting as it may be to allow your high-energy toddler to skip a nap, in hopes of an earlier bedtime, remember that many temper-tantrums can be avoided by keeping a happy toddler on schedule.
Solution: If you choose to offer juice, limit juice to 4 oz per day for toddlers; you can offer juice as-is or diluted it with water. Between feedings, respond to thirst by offering water. When planning meals, factor in liquids. Offer milk with each meal: for the 3 main meals offer half a cup (4 oz.) of milk with each meal. Toddlers need 2 cups of milk (16 oz) a day, according to the current USDA My Pyramid guidelines for ages 2-5 years; dairy foods can be factored in to meet this requirement (2).
Example: 3 meals x ½ cup milk per meal = 12 oz total, leaving you another 4 oz milk, which can be offered as: either ½ cup yogurt for snack OR 1 oz cheese in a whole-wheat quesadilla for lunch OR ½ cup of milk.
Problem: Your child refuses to eat any new foods and has exclusive preference for a few foods, also referred to as "being a typical toddler." The obvious danger is that you will always offer them the accepted foods and avoid presenting any new foods.


The record derives from WCSP (data supplied on 2012-03-23 ) which reports it as an accepted name (record 53095) with original publication details: Orchid Rev. 11: 190 1903 .
Full publication details for this name can be found in IPNI: http://ipni.org/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:624949-1.
This name was in version 1 of The Plant List, record kew-53095.


We can never truly know what someone else's pain feels like, or truly understand another's experience with illness or injury. But we are mistaken if we think that this gives us reason not to try.
As two sophomore Nursing majors and Medical Humanities minors at Boston College, we feel a personal responsibility to give voice to stories of pain—including the suffering associated with physical, emotional, and mental illness and stress we have heard from our peers. We also feel called to elicit and validate the stories of pain which haven't yet been told. Many suffer silently every day on campus, and our hope is to provide space for these people to share their stories and thus feel less isolated.
"Underheard HSC" (@underheard_hsc), the Instagram account we've launched, is dedicated to sharing anonymous short health stories and art pieces by and from college students. It aims to make stories of illness, disability, and loss in college more accessible to the students facing these challenges, to encourage those who aren't naturally inclined to write about their experiences to share their stories, and to help those who haven't experienced such challenges to join in conversations about health and illness with those around them.
In college, there is great stigma around diseases or injuries that are considered unusual in our age group. We are expected to be young, strong, and resilient to whatever comes our way. This presumption of healthiness makes it challenging for those who undergo debilitating illnesses to express themselves. When these experiences are under-discussed, it leads to misunderstandings about the reality of being sick, and about how to best respond to and care for those around us who are experiencing these challenges. For this reason, we are particularly interested in reaching college students through our work as interns at Health Story Collaborative.
Our hope is that Underheard HSC becomes a space where young people feel less alone in their pain and comfortable enough to submit quotes or short stories about their own health.
Each of us has or will deal with health challenges in our lifetime. It's time to start talking about it. By taking the time to listen to and express care for the stories of our peers, we will not only be showing them kindness, but we will also begin to make space for a kind of storytelling which can lead to emotional healing. Our greatest ambition is to inspire better communication and deeper human connection. We hope that this platform welcomes students to share and serves to validate and honor every health story.
Supporting unique projects and starting new conversations can sometimes be scary, but the barriers to discussing the difficulties of illness which we have comfortably hidden behind until now are the very reason we must take a leap and open our minds to the infinite stories of illness and pain existing around us. Please join us in taking a small but important step in showing our peers that we care: follow @underheard_hsc on Instagram.
For questions or to submit a story, please email Evelyn and Heena at hscinterns@gmail.com.
Evelyn Caty is a sophomore at Boston College majoring in Nursing and minoring in Medical Humanities. She discovered for herself the utter inexpressibility of pain when she suffered from undiagnosed back pain for many years, and she hopes to use this knowledge to encourage her peers struggling with health challenges to begin healing through the telling of their own stories. She, too, hopes to use her passion for the medical humanities and for storytelling to become a compassionate and effective nurse.