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By Cristina Arrigoni-Martelli
Paper given at the 47th International Congress on Medieval Studies (2012)
Session: Medieval Environments III: Exploiting and Managing Animal Resources -
Popular interest in cryptozoology (the study of unconfirmed species, such as bigfoot and chupacabra) has been fuelled by a recent publishing frenzy of encyclopaedias, dictionaries, and guides devoted to the subject, as well as by unprecedented opportunities for enthusiasts to collect data and exchange stories via the Internet. The author situates the emotional commitment many exhibit toward cryptids (the creatures themselves) in a broad historical context. Unconfirmed species served as an implicit ground of conflict and dialogue between untutored masses and educated elite, even prior to the rise of academic science as a unified body of expert consensus. The psychological significance of cryptozoology in the modern world has new facets, however: it now serves to channel guilt over the decimation of species and destruction of the natural habitat; to recapture a sense of mysticism and danger in a world now perceived as fully charted and over-explored; and to articulate resentment of and defiance against a scientific community perceived as monopolising the pool of culturally acceptable beliefs.
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Pictured: The moment British woman was mauled by 'tame' cheetahs at holiday safari park and had to play dead to survive
Woman, 60, left bleeding badly after being attacked as husband took pics
Lucky not to lose an eye in three-minute attack, said doctors
Eight-year-old girl also attacked by 'agitated' cheetahs
Park manager said the deadly animals 'thought it was play time' and weren't 'being vicious'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2139442/Violet-DMello-mauled-tame-cheetahs-holiday-safari-park.html#ixzz1uAEvliv9 -
Le più celebri e significative opere della letteratura zoografica arabo-islamica vengono analizzate e raffrontate con i corrispettivi testi mediolatini. L'interpretazione del mondo animale di al-Gahiz, degli Ikhwan al-safa', di al-Qazwini e di al-Damiri viene messa in relazione con il pensiero di Ambrogio, Agostino, Isidoro di Siviglia e Giovanni Scoto Eriugena, per evidenziarne affinità e divergenze. Il volume si ripropone di esaminare le diverse modalità con cui gli autori arabi e latini medievali affrontano le tematiche riguardanti il destino terreno e ultraterreno delle creature animali, le loro capacità razionali e linguistiche, e la loro trasformazione in puri simboli di realtà superiori. Il procedimento intellettuale, comune ad entrambe le culture cristiana e arabo-islamica, consistente nell'appropriarsi del sapere delle antiche civiltà per amalgamarlo e fonderlo nel proprio orizzonte culturale, permette di individuare nelle testimonianze letterarie in nostro possesso le tracce delle condivise eredità del passato, che tuttavia non intaccano la specifica originalità dell'unitaria struttura delle due differenti, prestigiose tradizioni culturali.
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En 2011, les douanes ont saisi quelque 12.359 spécimens protégés.
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expo virtuelle de la RMN sur la girafe de Charles X (en line avec l'expo du cabinet du MNHN de mars 2012)
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Un site pour se questionner sur le rôle des voyageurs naturalistes dans la diffusion des savoirs
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séminaire ENS de Jean Trinquier
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