In preface "Familiar Preface" to the „autobiographical” volume "A Personal Record: Some Reminiscence", Joseph Conrad provides that, in this work, there is no „veil” separating the reader from the author. Despite this declaration, Conrad ’s „memories” goes beyond autobiography and you can risk the thesis that all „autobiographical” texts are rather telling — in the idiomatic way — not about a man but cultural contexts, which formed him. Conrad ’s paratexts (the famous preface to "The Nigger of the 'Narcissus'", mentioned "Familiar Preface" and "Author’s Notes" written by Conrad for subsequent volumes of his works in the period 1917–1920) make an even greater problem of interpretation. They contain not only the artistic statements, but also a surprising “autobiographical” reference and “guidance” of interpretation — that really explains very little and seem to talk about something else. It is difficult to treat Conrad ’s paratexts as autobiographical texts (though they often pretend to be); in turn proposal of seeing in them “author function” in the classic form, indicated by Michel Foucault, also appears to be incomplete, because these paratexts simultaneously create author and his cultural context and literary craftsmanship. It seems, therefore, that Conrad considered his paratexts (especially "Author’s Notes") as a separate literary genre, in accordance with the instructions of Kierkegaard .
Artykuł stanowi próbę spojrzenia na historię antropologii kultury nie tylko diachronicznie, poprzez pryzmat rozpowszechnionej kategorii „rozwoju nauki”, która ma proweniencje ewolucjonistyczne, ale w sposób synchroniczny, pod kątem trwających w niej i poddawanych przekształceniom pojęć. Istnieje zatem możliwość uznania Argonautów zachodniego Pacyfiku nie tylko za pionierską „monografię terenową” lub zalążek „teorii funkcjonalnej”, ale również za pewien – analogiczny do wizji istnienia mitu w kulturze autorstwa Claude’a Lévi-Straussa – wariant antropologii kultury, ewentualnie jej archiwum (w rozumieniu Michela Foucaulta). Przedmiotem analizy są w tym przypadku relacje pomiędzy pojęciami funkcji i struktury. Okazuje się, że propozycja Malinowskiego nie jest w gruncie rzeczy tak odległa od późniejszych koncepcji strukturalistycznych autorstwa Alfreda Reginalda Radcliffe-Browna i Lévi-Straussa. Dominacja myślenia funkcjonalnego oznacza w tym przypadku położenie nacisku na sposoby wprowadzania w życie i odczuwania konstruktów kulturowych przez tubylców. Dzięki temu Argonauci… stają się przede wszystkim opisem dynamicznej, żyjącej kultury; dlatego też rdzeniem książki – co nietypowe w przypadku prac naukowych z obszaru antropologii – jest podróż ukazująca kulturę w działaniu.
EN
The article is an attempt to look upon the history of anthropology not only through the diachronic lenses, the popular “science development” category, which has evolutionistic provenience, but also synchronic, through the process of moulding and shifting concepts. Thus, it is possible, to claim Argonauts of the Western Pacific not only as a pioneering “fieldwork monograph” or an origin of the “functionalism theory”, but also as – analogous to Claude Lévi-Strauss’ concept on the place of myth in culture – an alternative of cultural anthropology, or, its archive (in the sense explained by Michael Foucault). In this case the analysis is cast upon the relations between structure and function. It appears that in fact Malinowski’s conception is not as far away from the latter structuralist theories of Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown and Lévi-Strauss. The domination of functionalistic thought in this case implies putting an emphasis onto the ways of realising and sensing the cultural constructs by the natives. As a result, the Argonauts… became primarily a description of a dynamic, living culture; for that reason, the core of the book – uncommonly for anthropological scientific works – is a journey showing the culture in action.
Grafiki, na których Andrzej Łabuz przedstawia i przekształca wizerunki Indian oraz ślady ich egzystencji, takie jak np. koce, pobudzają do przemyślenia na nowo kilku antropologicznych kwestii. Doszukiwanie się w nich jedynie formy estetycznej lub prostych kulturowych klisz łatwo może zagłuszyć toczący się tu międzykulturowy dialog. Tradycja Indian północnoamerykańskich zapisana w wizerunkach twarzy i śladach przedmiotów jest osnową umożliwiającą artyście prowadzenie wątku wypowiedzi graficznej.
EN
Graphics, on which Andrzej Łabuz depicts and morphs images of Native Americans as well as traces of their existence, such as plaids, inspire to rethink some of anthropological issues. Seeking only for esthetic forms or simplistic cultural cliches can easily stifle the ongoing intercultural dialog. Native American tradition recorded in depictions of faces and traces of objects is a warp enabling the artist conduction of the thread of imagery expression.
Joseph Conrad in his works frequently tests contemporary scientific theories and ideologies by re-applying them to the ‘real’ world of the common thought (Allan Hunter’s notice) and confronting with a different cultural context. In the same way the writer deals with evolutionism: we find a lot of references to Darwinian “survival of the fittest” theory, Spencer’s social evolutionism and Huxley’s ethical considerations in Conrad’s works. In Heart of Darkness the writer travesties the metaphor of civilization as a garden which should be cultivated according to the universal rules of the “horticultural process”, the metaphor used by Huxley in Prolegomena to the Evolution and Ethics. Doing this, Conrad tends towards examining the ethical limitations of evolutionary theory applied as a justification for colonial genocide. Simultaneously, pointing to the necessity of synchronous and contextual approach to the problem of cultural relativism the writer tries to transcend the linear scheme of evolution based on the simplified opposition between nature and civilization.
Shame is a cultural element that is characterised both by a high degree of invariantability, as well as by historical variation. The crucial, and contextual cultural patterns are built around shame; we even speak of the typology of cultures based on this concept. The main function of shame is a control function aimed at conserving cultural norms, both in terms of corporeality, behaviours, and also ideas; therefore, it operates in culture both in the verbal and the proxemic space. In the novel "Shame", Salman Rushdie, considering a cultural identity problem in the postcolonial world, confronts with each other the characters extremely shameful and shameless. Thanks to that experiment, the author reflects on durability of a complex understanding of cultural tradition. The purpose of this article is to analyse cultural forms of shame expressed in the literary work on the basis of some research suggestions from the field of anthropology of literature. This perspective should enable reflection on the contemporary vision of a universal and contextual dimension of culture outside the framework of post–colonial criticism.
Autor stawia sobie za cel namysł nad granicznością Smutku tropików wychodząc od pewnego tropu literackiego, a raczej literackiego mitu. Lévi-Strauss za jedną z wymarzonych, ale nienapisanych książek uznaje… Smutek tropików. Przyznaje się bowiem do ogromnej fascynacji Josephem Conradem, którego określa swoim ulubionym pisarzem; antropolog stwierdza nawet, że chciałby napisać jego książki. W efekcie Smutek tropików miał być pierwotnie „conradowską” powieścią; antropolog planował opisać klasyczną, można by powiedzieć, dla angielskiego pisarza intrygę: tubylcy zwodzeni są przez białych dźwiękiem patefonu jako głosem duchów. Z planowanej powieści zostały ostatecznie w książce tylko fragmenty opisujące zachód słońca, a zatem równie klasyczny „conradowski” fragment. Artykuł odpowiada na pytanie, w jakim kierunku prowadzą nas dylematy przez ów zachód słońca przedstawione; pokazuje, że zostały one wyrażone już we wcześniejszych rozdziałach książki francuskiego antropologa i powracać będą w następnych. Realne zagrożenie zapowiadane przez ułudę przedstawienia może przyjmować różne fabularne imiona i formy: mogą to być Indianie Munde, tak dzicy, że aż niepoznawalni; może to być „pogoń za mocą” prowadząca nas ku granicom po to jedynie, byśmy mogli później pochwalić się albumem fotosów; jest to też „entropologia” badająca w istocie procesy dezintegracji kultur i przestrzegająca przed nimi.
EN
Author’s aim is to contemplate the boundaries of Tristes Tropiques starting with one of the literary trails, or rather literary myths. Lévi-Strauss considers Tristes Tropiques to be his one of the dream but unwritten books. He admits to his fascination with Joseph Conrad, and describes him as his favorite writer; the anthropologist even claims that he would like to write his books. As a result Tristes Tropiques at the beginning was meant to be a “Conrad-like” novel. He planned to describe, let’s say, an intrigue that would be classical for an English writer: the natives are misled by white people using the sounds made by a pathé that resemble those made by ghosts. From the planned novel there are only fragments describing sunsets which are classical “Conrad-like” fragments. The article answers the question in which directions the dilemmas presented by the sun set lead us; shows that they were already expressed in the previous chapters of the book and that they will be coming back in the next chapters. Real threat announced by the deception of presentation may have different fiction names and forms: they can be Munde Indians that are so wild that they aren’t recognizable; it can be a “chase after power” leading us to the boundaries just in order to give us the opportunity to boast with a great album of photographies; it is also “enthropology” examining the processes connected with disintegration of cultures and warning against them.
The author tries to prove that Joseph Conrad's 'The Inn of the Two Witches' is the intentional travesty of Jan Potocki's 'The Manuscript Found in Saragossa'. Both texts reveal a few similarities within the plot: the names of Moorish sisters in Potocki's work (Emina and Zibelda) correspond to the names of two witches, namely Erminia and Lucilla found in Conrad's story, a small inn somewhere in the Spanish mountains, brigands and, finally, the manuscript - a starting point of the stories. However, what distinguishes Conrad's narrator from that of Potocki is a different way of using the original manuscript as the source of the stories in question. Moreover, in Potocki's text the manuscript is quoted as a literal translation from Spanish, while Conradian narrator 'redrafts' the manuscript because he finds it 'dull'. According to Michel Foucault, it can be proven that Potocki's and Conrad's texts are based on the same kind of material, yet they represent different episteme. In the former we find the classical Order of discourse with literature being its exclusive point of reference. In Conrad's story we see how this classical Order is transformed by the presence and emotions of Man seen as a source of the truth.
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