title: 'Morbid Exhilarations': Dying Words in Early Modern English Drama

authors: Martin, Fiona

abstract: In Renaissance England, dying a good death helped to ensure that the soul was prepared for the afterlife. In the theatre, however, playwrights disrupt and challenge the conventional formulas for last words, creating death scenes that range from the philosophical to the blackly comic. In expanding the potential of the dying speech, dramatists encourage in their audiences a willingness to contemplate less orthodox responses to death. This thesis thus focuses on the final utterances of dying characters, in selected scenes from early modern English tragedies. While scenes from iconic dramatists such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe are considered as part of the discussion, emphasis is primarily given to those of less canonical playwrights, including George Chapman, Thomas Dekker, John Fletcher, Thomas Kyd, Gervase Markham, John Marston, Philip Massinger, Thomas Middleton, John Webster, William Sampson, and Robert Yarington. Chronologically, the scenes span nearly four decades, from Marlowe’s Tamburlaine plays in 1590, to Sampson’s Vow Breaker in 1636. The thesis encompasses four major contexts for the study of dying speeches: beheadings, murder, revenge and suicide. Chapter One, on public execution, focuses on scaffold speeches delivered prior to simulated beheadings on the stage. The second chapter examines the genre of the murder play and the pattern of the victim’s displaced last words. Chapter Three explores the creative freedom taken by playwrights in the composition of dying speeches in revenge scenarios, and the final chapter foregrounds the verbal preoccupations of characters who choose to take their own lives. Each subject is established in relation to social, religious and political contexts in early modern England, so that characters’ final words are considered from both historical and literary perspectives.

text: 'Morbid Exhilarations': Dying Words in Early Modern English Drama In Renaissance England, dying a good death helped to ensure that the soul was prepared for the afterlife. In the theatre, however, playwrights disrupt and challenge the conventional formulas for last words, creating death scenes that range from the philosophical to the blackly comic. In expanding the potential of the dying speech, dramatists encourage in their audiences a willingness to contemplate less orthodox responses to death. This thesis thus focuses on the final utterances of dying characters, in selected scenes from early modern English tragedies. While scenes from iconic dramatists such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe are considered as part of the discussion, emphasis is primarily given to those of less canonical playwrights, including George Chapman, Thomas Dekker, John Fletcher, Thomas Kyd, Gervase Markham, John Marston, Philip Massinger, Thomas Middleton, John Webster, William Sampson, and Robert Yarington. Chronologically, the scenes span nearly four decades, from Marlowe’s Tamburlaine plays in 1590, to Sampson’s Vow Breaker in 1636. The thesis encompasses four major contexts for the study of dying speeches: beheadings, murder, revenge and suicide. Chapter One, on public execution, focuses on scaffold speeches delivered prior to simulated beheadings on the stage. The second chapter examines the genre of the murder play and the pattern of the victim’s displaced last words. Chapter Three explores the creative freedom taken by playwrights in the composition of dying speeches in revenge scenarios, and the final chapter foregrounds the verbal preoccupations of characters who choose to take their own lives. Each subject is established in relation to social, religious and political contexts in early modern England, so that characters’ final words are considered from both historical and literary perspectives.

year: 2010

title: The inter-valley soil comparative survey: the ecology of Dry Valley edaphic microbial communities

authors: Lee, Charles Kai-Wu

subjects: Antarctica

abstract: Recent applications of molecular genetics to edaphic microbial communities of the McMurdo Dry Valleys and elsewhere have rejected a long-held belief that Antarctic soils contain extremely limited microbial diversity. The Inter-Valley Soil Comparative Survey aims to elucidate the factors shaping these unique microbial communities and their biogeography by integrating molecular genetic approaches with biogeochemical analyses. Although the microbial communities of Dry Valley soils may be complex, there is little doubt that the ecosystem's food web is relatively simple, and evidence suggests that physicochemical conditions may have the dominant role in shaping microbial communities. To examine this hypothesis, bacterial communities from representative soil samples collected in four geographically disparate Dry Valleys were analyzed using molecular genetic tools, including pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene PCR amplicons. Results show that the four communities are structurally and phylogenetically distinct, and possess significantly different levels of diversity. Strikingly, only 2 of 214 phylotypes were found in all four valleys, challenging a widespread assumption that the microbiota of the Dry Valleys is composed of a few cosmopolitan species. Analysis of soil geochemical properties indicated that salt content, alongside altitude and Cu2+, was significantly correlated with differences in microbial communities. Our results indicate that the microbial ecology of Dry Valley soils is highly localized and that physicochemical factors potentially have major roles in shaping the microbiology of ice-free areas of Antarctica. These findings hint at links between Dry Valley glacial geomorphology and microbial ecology, and raise previously unrecognized issues related to environmental management of this unique ecosystem.

text: The inter-valley soil comparative survey: the ecology of Dry Valley edaphic microbial communities Recent applications of molecular genetics to edaphic microbial communities of the McMurdo Dry Valleys and elsewhere have rejected a long-held belief that Antarctic soils contain extremely limited microbial diversity. The Inter-Valley Soil Comparative Survey aims to elucidate the factors shaping these unique microbial communities and their biogeography by integrating molecular genetic approaches with biogeochemical analyses. Although the microbial communities of Dry Valley soils may be complex, there is little doubt that the ecosystem's food web is relatively simple, and evidence suggests that physicochemical conditions may have the dominant role in shaping microbial communities. To examine this hypothesis, bacterial communities from representative soil samples collected in four geographically disparate Dry Valleys were analyzed using molecular genetic tools, including pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene PCR amplicons. Results show that the four communities are structurally and phylogenetically distinct, and possess significantly different levels of diversity. Strikingly, only 2 of 214 phylotypes were found in all four valleys, challenging a widespread assumption that the microbiota of the Dry Valleys is composed of a few cosmopolitan species. Analysis of soil geochemical properties indicated that salt content, alongside altitude and Cu2+, was significantly correlated with differences in microbial communities. Our results indicate that the microbial ecology of Dry Valley soils is highly localized and that physicochemical factors potentially have major roles in shaping the microbiology of ice-free areas of Antarctica. These findings hint at links between Dry Valley glacial geomorphology and microbial ecology, and raise previously unrecognized issues related to environmental management of this unique ecosystem.

year: 2011

title: Indigenous Peoples and the Protection of Their Secret Knowledge: A Promising Pathway Ahead

authors: Masoni, Claudia

abstract: This work focuses on the intangible, secret aspects of indigenous peoples’ cultures and how such secret information is protected by indigenous guardians or holders. This is because much of indigenous culture is imbued with spiritual significance for indigenous peoples and, consequently, it is not made available to the rest of the community and the world at large.
This thesis examines the reasons why it is important to preserve indigenous cultures and secret practices that today survive in indigenous communities. The thesis demonstrates that secrecy is seen as essential to the preservation of indigenous secret knowledge. Indigenous guardians are responsible for the preservation of the information, and they commonly use secrecy to preserve the knowledge and, when they share it, they choose limited, confidential circumstances to do so. This work argues that it is important to make reasonable space in the existing body of laws which have so far failed to effectively protect indigenous secret practices and information. The case study described in this thesis helps understand how states are currently trying to listen, understand and accommodate indigenous claims brought forward at the national and international fora. The thesis reviews the legal protection currently available to indigenous secret knowledge in national and international law. The first 6 chapters introduce indigenous cultures, holism and indigenous peoples and international law, and chapter 7 describes the New Zealand case Wai 262 and the recommendations given by the Waitangi Tribunal. The remaining chapters analyse indigenous cultures and intellectual property laws, identifying gaps in the existing mechanisms for protection and underlining why, as of today, intellectual property law does not guarantee adequate protection to indigenous secret knowledge. The last chapter analyses the law of breach of confidence as a possible instrument to safeguard indigenous secret information and the duty of care performed by indigenous guardians in preserving such knowledge. It argues that the existing law of confidentiality can usefully evolve to protect cultural secret information as a growing category in its own right and that indigenous secret information can find protection as confidential information.

text: Indigenous Peoples and the Protection of Their Secret Knowledge: A Promising Pathway Ahead This work focuses on the intangible, secret aspects of indigenous peoples’ cultures and how such secret information is protected by indigenous guardians or holders. This is because much of indigenous culture is imbued with spiritual significance for indigenous peoples and, consequently, it is not made available to the rest of the community and the world at large.
This thesis examines the reasons why it is important to preserve indigenous cultures and secret practices that today survive in indigenous communities. The thesis demonstrates that secrecy is seen as essential to the preservation of indigenous secret knowledge. Indigenous guardians are responsible for the preservation of the information, and they commonly use secrecy to preserve the knowledge and, when they share it, they choose limited, confidential circumstances to do so. This work argues that it is important to make reasonable space in the existing body of laws which have so far failed to effectively protect indigenous secret practices and information. The case study described in this thesis helps understand how states are currently trying to listen, understand and accommodate indigenous claims brought forward at the national and international fora. The thesis reviews the legal protection currently available to indigenous secret knowledge in national and international law. The first 6 chapters introduce indigenous cultures, holism and indigenous peoples and international law, and chapter 7 describes the New Zealand case Wai 262 and the recommendations given by the Waitangi Tribunal. The remaining chapters analyse indigenous cultures and intellectual property laws, identifying gaps in the existing mechanisms for protection and underlining why, as of today, intellectual property law does not guarantee adequate protection to indigenous secret knowledge. The last chapter analyses the law of breach of confidence as a possible instrument to safeguard indigenous secret information and the duty of care performed by indigenous guardians in preserving such knowledge. It argues that the existing law of confidentiality can usefully evolve to protect cultural secret information as a growing category in its own right and that indigenous secret information can find protection as confidential information.

year: 2017