The referendum of 23 June 2016 on the UK’s continued membership of the European Union produced a narrow but clear majority for ‘Leave’. But the campaign’s organisers had no clear idea of how to proceed, throwing the country and the governing Conservative party into chronic confusion. Between June 2016 and July 2024, the UK had five Tory prime ministers. Drawing on recent books and articles, the first section of this essay shows how ‘Brexit’ was a slogan in search of a strategy, with the Tories unable to agree on major issues such as the ‘control of borders’ and the maintenance of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland. The second section explores the struggle over the unity of the United Kingdom between Tory centralisers and the devolved governments who wanted the powers repatriated from Brussels to be returned to them. This article arises from the Elie Kedourie Memorial Lecture, delivered 14 November 2023.
{"title":"The meaning of Brexit and the future of the Union","authors":"David Reynolds","doi":"10.5871/jba/012.a26","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/012.a26","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The referendum of 23 June 2016 on the UK’s continued membership of the European Union produced a narrow but clear majority for ‘Leave’. But the campaign’s organisers had no clear idea of how to proceed, throwing the country and the governing Conservative party into chronic confusion. Between June 2016 and July 2024, the UK had five Tory prime ministers. Drawing on recent books and articles, the first section of this essay shows how ‘Brexit’ was a slogan in search of a strategy, with the Tories unable to agree on major issues such as the ‘control of borders’ and the maintenance of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland. The second section explores the struggle over the unity of the United Kingdom between Tory centralisers and the devolved governments who wanted the powers repatriated from Brussels to be returned to them. This article arises from the Elie Kedourie Memorial Lecture, delivered 14 November 2023.\u0000","PeriodicalId":93790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the British Academy","volume":"59 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141653352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Russian war against Ukraine, having brought monumental social, economic, and environmental devastation, serves as a compelling case study demonstrating the broader implications of climate crises, underscoring the complex interplay between fossil fuel dependency and geopolitical tensions, and illustrating that the fight for climate justice and the fight for peace are deeply interconnected. Meanwhile, Ukraine has the potential to leverage post-war reconstruction as an unprecedented opportunity for comprehensive decarbonisation and ecological recovery. Examining the limitations of the international climate change regime and exploring controversial aspects of fossil fuel production, this paper highlights the hidden climate costs of war, and investigates the concept of ‘climate change as a battle’ and how it can frame the global discourse on climate security and climate justice. It argues that addressing climate change is akin to fighting a war, requiring mobilisation of resources, political will, and international solidarity. In this context, Ukraine’s experience offers valuable lessons for the global community as it navigates the complex challenges of post-conflict recovery while simultaneously addressing the urgent need for climate action. With the right assistance, Ukraine could emerge as a front-runner in the global energy transition, inspiring other nations to pursue ambitious climate action even in the face of adversity.
{"title":"The Russian War against Ukraine: a case study in climate, conflict, and green recovery","authors":"Ievgeniia Kopytsia","doi":"10.5871/jba/012.a24","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/012.a24","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The Russian war against Ukraine, having brought monumental social, economic, and environmental devastation, serves as a compelling case study demonstrating the broader implications of climate crises, underscoring the complex interplay between fossil fuel dependency and geopolitical tensions, and illustrating that the fight for climate justice and the fight for peace are deeply interconnected. Meanwhile, Ukraine has the potential to leverage post-war reconstruction as an unprecedented opportunity for comprehensive decarbonisation and ecological recovery. Examining the limitations of the international climate change regime and exploring controversial aspects of fossil fuel production, this paper highlights the hidden climate costs of war, and investigates the concept of ‘climate change as a battle’ and how it can frame the global discourse on climate security and climate justice. It argues that addressing climate change is akin to fighting a war, requiring mobilisation of resources, political will, and international solidarity. In this context, Ukraine’s experience offers valuable lessons for the global community as it navigates the complex challenges of post-conflict recovery while simultaneously addressing the urgent need for climate action. With the right assistance, Ukraine could emerge as a front-runner in the global energy transition, inspiring other nations to pursue ambitious climate action even in the face of adversity.\u0000","PeriodicalId":93790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the British Academy","volume":"2 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141652177","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This opinion piece argues that the education system in England suffers from a lack of KAL (Knowledge About Language) which is so extreme that it deserves the name KAL desert because children are taught virtually nothing about the languages that they study, whether English or a foreign language. The dominant view of language sees it merely as a skill, rather than as something interesting which is worth exploring, and the only content taught and tested in language lessons comes from literature rather than linguistics. This desert is to be found not only in our schools but also in our university departments of English and of foreign languages, so future teachers of English and foreign languages are not equipped to teach about language; modern linguistics has very little impact on the school curriculum apart from the Advanced Level exam in English Language. I also show that the present decline in both English and foreign languages actually started about 1970, and may arguably be due in part to the KAL desert. However, I also report evidence from three recent initiatives that a lot of children enjoy exploring language and learning about it, so I suggest that the decline in languages, both English and foreign, might be halted by teaching more KAL. Finally, I suggest a roadmap for achieving this by increasing KAL first in universities and then in schools.
{"title":"Language at school: literature or linguistics?","authors":"Richard Hudson","doi":"10.5871/jba/012.a25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/012.a25","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This opinion piece argues that the education system in England suffers from a lack of KAL (Knowledge About Language) which is so extreme that it deserves the name KAL desert because children are taught virtually nothing about the languages that they study, whether English or a foreign language. The dominant view of language sees it merely as a skill, rather than as something interesting which is worth exploring, and the only content taught and tested in language lessons comes from literature rather than linguistics. This desert is to be found not only in our schools but also in our university departments of English and of foreign languages, so future teachers of English and foreign languages are not equipped to teach about language; modern linguistics has very little impact on the school curriculum apart from the Advanced Level exam in English Language. I also show that the present decline in both English and foreign languages actually started about 1970, and may arguably be due in part to the KAL desert. However, I also report evidence from three recent initiatives that a lot of children enjoy exploring language and learning about it, so I suggest that the decline in languages, both English and foreign, might be halted by teaching more KAL. Finally, I suggest a roadmap for achieving this by increasing KAL first in universities and then in schools.\u0000","PeriodicalId":93790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the British Academy","volume":"57 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141653383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In this personal essay, I reflect on the how cultural shifts in the British art world establishment, have enabled black artists who came of age in the Eighties, to enjoy late career success. I’m particularly interested in the careers of black women, who have traditionally been more overlooked by their male counterparts. I start with my own desire to connect to my Nigerian/African heritage when I was a young woman, one who had grown up brainwashed by the colonial project, and talk about the changes I have witnessed since the Eighties. I interrogate the value placed on transnational artists with ancestral ties to Africa by the art establishment then and now, and how those artists who are currently exhibiting in major art galleries and museums are often showing work created decades ago. This begs the question, if not then, why now? The article arises from a British Academy Lecture delivered on 9 November 2023.
{"title":"Personal notes on the art of the African diaspora","authors":"Bernardine Evaristo","doi":"10.5871/jba/012.a20","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/012.a20","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000In this personal essay, I reflect on the how cultural shifts in the British art world establishment, have enabled black artists who came of age in the Eighties, to enjoy late career success. I’m particularly interested in the careers of black women, who have traditionally been more overlooked by their male counterparts. I start with my own desire to connect to my Nigerian/African heritage when I was a young woman, one who had grown up brainwashed by the colonial project, and talk about the changes I have witnessed since the Eighties. I interrogate the value placed on transnational artists with ancestral ties to Africa by the art establishment then and now, and how those artists who are currently exhibiting in major art galleries and museums are often showing work created decades ago. This begs the question, if not then, why now? The article arises from a British Academy Lecture delivered on 9 November 2023.\u0000","PeriodicalId":93790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the British Academy","volume":"15 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141112491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This is the first in a series of articles that look at the uses (and limitations) of pieces of academic terminology. This article considers the origins of the terms ‘Byzantium’ and ‘Byzantine’, and considers both their current use in academic discourse, and whether there are more appropriate alternatives.
{"title":"Coming to terms with: Byzantium/Byzantine","authors":"Nicholas de Lange, John Haldon","doi":"10.5871/jba/012.a22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/012.a22","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This is the first in a series of articles that look at the uses (and limitations) of pieces of academic terminology. This article considers the origins of the terms ‘Byzantium’ and ‘Byzantine’, and considers both their current use in academic discourse, and whether there are more appropriate alternatives.\u0000","PeriodicalId":93790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the British Academy","volume":"28 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141112195","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Built on the site of a princely palace and intended to house aristocrats in almost equally impressive accommodation, Carlton House Terrace is in many respects an unlikely home for a learned society. This article traces the history of two houses: numbers 10 and 11, exploring their architecture and the lives of those who occupied them from their construction in the early 19th century until the present day. It seeks to show how shifting fashions and changing functions shaped the fabric that we now encounter. This building biography reveals a palimpsest in which each generation has reinvented the site—a process that continues with the recent work to refurbish the basement and open the British Academy’s home to the public. The text is accompanied by an Appendix of Plates.
{"title":"The British Academy’s home at 10–11 Carlton House Terrace: a history","authors":"William Whyte","doi":"10.5871/jba/012.a23","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/012.a23","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Built on the site of a princely palace and intended to house aristocrats in almost equally impressive accommodation, Carlton House Terrace is in many respects an unlikely home for a learned society. This article traces the history of two houses: numbers 10 and 11, exploring their architecture and the lives of those who occupied them from their construction in the early 19th century until the present day. It seeks to show how shifting fashions and changing functions shaped the fabric that we now encounter. This building biography reveals a palimpsest in which each generation has reinvented the site—a process that continues with the recent work to refurbish the basement and open the British Academy’s home to the public. The text is accompanied by an Appendix of Plates.\u0000","PeriodicalId":93790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the British Academy","volume":"40 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141111217","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In light of contemporary ecological challenges affecting our globe, it is increasingly acknowledged that indigenous knowledges are vital for local communities to understand, deal with, and respond to, climate change. Against this background, this article focuses on indigenous religious practices among the Nso’ of the Bamenda Grasslands of Cameroon. The article specifically analyses photographic representations of religious rituals that have shaped, and continue to help, the Nso’ people to accurately forecast climatic conditions and adapt/take precautions. This analysis demonstrates that through photographic narratives the rule of traditional religion in climate forecast can be valorised and exploited to add to the knowledge of climate challenge adaptation. The findings also demonstrate methodologically the role and importance of photographs as a medium for preserving collective and societal memories. (This article is published in the thematic collection ‘African ecologies: literary, cultural and religious perspectives’, edited by Adriaan van Klinken, Simon Manda, Damaris Parsitau and Abel Ugba.)
鉴于影响全球的当代生态挑战，人们日益认识到，土著知识对于当地社区了解、处理和应对气候变化至关重要。在此背景下，本文重点关注喀麦隆巴门达草原恩索人的土著宗教习俗。文章具体分析了宗教仪式的摄影表现形式，这些仪式曾经并将继续帮助恩索人准确预测气候条件并适应/采取预防措施。这项分析表明，通过摄影叙事，传统宗教在气候预测中的作用可以得到重视和利用，从而增加适应气候挑战的知识。研究结果还从方法论角度证明了照片作为保存集体和社会记忆的媒介的作用和重要性。(本文发表于 "非洲生态：文学、文化和宗教视角 "专题集，由 Adriaan van Klinken、Simon Manda、Damaris Parsitau 和 Abel Ugba 编辑）。
{"title":"Nso’ traditional religion and climate forecast: a critical photographic analysis","authors":"Noela Kinyuy Banla","doi":"10.5871/jba/012.a19","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/012.a19","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000In light of contemporary ecological challenges affecting our globe, it is increasingly acknowledged that indigenous knowledges are vital for local communities to understand, deal with, and respond to, climate change. Against this background, this article focuses on indigenous religious practices among the Nso’ of the Bamenda Grasslands of Cameroon. The article specifically analyses photographic representations of religious rituals that have shaped, and continue to help, the Nso’ people to accurately forecast climatic conditions and adapt/take precautions. This analysis demonstrates that through photographic narratives the rule of traditional religion in climate forecast can be valorised and exploited to add to the knowledge of climate challenge adaptation. The findings also demonstrate methodologically the role and importance of photographs as a medium for preserving collective and societal memories. (This article is published in the thematic collection ‘African ecologies: literary, cultural and religious perspectives’, edited by Adriaan van Klinken, Simon Manda, Damaris Parsitau and Abel Ugba.)\u0000","PeriodicalId":93790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the British Academy","volume":"34 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141110809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article examines the sound of the cockcrow in Yoruba rural spaces, phonically represented as ‘kukurúùkúù’, with a particular focus on the ecological and spiritual implications. The study highlights the timing functions of the cockcrow which have endured over the years in Yoruba rural societies, thereby foregrounding the interlinking between human and nonhuman forms of life among the Yoruba in Nigeria. Utilising an ethnographic approach through participant observation and key informant interviews conducted with selected Ifá priests, this study engages in a hermeneutic exploration of the Yoruba indigenous religion and literary genres to demonstrate the importance of the cockcrow, time, and nature in traditional Yoruba life and the implications for healthy cohabiting of human and nonhuman forms under conditions of environmental degradation. (This article is published in the thematic collection ‘African ecologies: literary, cultural and religious perspectives’, edited by Adriaan van Klinken, Simon Manda, Damaris Parsitau and Abel Ugba.)
本文研究了约鲁巴乡村空间中的鸡鸣声（音译为 "kukurúùkúù"），尤其关注其对生态和精神的影响。该研究强调了鸡鸣在约鲁巴乡村社会中经久不衰的时间功能，从而突出了尼日利亚约鲁巴人中人类与非人类生活形式之间的相互联系。本研究采用人种学方法，通过对选定的伊法祭司进行参与式观察和关键信息提供者访谈，对约鲁巴土著宗教和文学流派进行诠释学探索，以展示鸡冠、时间和自然在约鲁巴传统生活中的重要性，以及在环境退化条件下人类和非人类形式健康共存的意义。(本文发表于由 Adriaan van Klinken、Simon Manda、Damaris Parsitau 和 Abel Ugba 编辑的专题集《非洲生态：文学、文化和宗教视角》）。
{"title":"‘Kukurúùkúù’: ecospiritual implications of the sounds of the cockcrow in Yoruba rural dwellings","authors":"Ibukunolu Isaac Olodude","doi":"10.5871/jba/012.a18","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/012.a18","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This article examines the sound of the cockcrow in Yoruba rural spaces, phonically represented as ‘kukurúùkúù’, with a particular focus on the ecological and spiritual implications. The study highlights the timing functions of the cockcrow which have endured over the years in Yoruba rural societies, thereby foregrounding the interlinking between human and nonhuman forms of life among the Yoruba in Nigeria. Utilising an ethnographic approach through participant observation and key informant interviews conducted with selected Ifá priests, this study engages in a hermeneutic exploration of the Yoruba indigenous religion and literary genres to demonstrate the importance of the cockcrow, time, and nature in traditional Yoruba life and the implications for healthy cohabiting of human and nonhuman forms under conditions of environmental degradation. (This article is published in the thematic collection ‘African ecologies: literary, cultural and religious perspectives’, edited by Adriaan van Klinken, Simon Manda, Damaris Parsitau and Abel Ugba.)\u0000","PeriodicalId":93790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the British Academy","volume":"59 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141111326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Adriaan van Klinken, Simon Manda, Damaris Parsitau, Abel Ugba
This article offers an introduction to the special section about the theme of ‘African Ecologies: Literature, Culture and Religion’. It explores the current interdisciplinary field of scholarship on ecology, environment, and climate change in Africa, mapping contributions from across the Humanities and the Social and Environmental Sciences. The article positions this special section in this ever-expanding body of literature, specifically deploying the notion of ‘African ecologies’ as a heuristic lens to examine how the relationship and interaction between living organisms, including humans, and the natural environment is conceived. It argues that social, cultural, literary, and religious ecology provide vital perspectives to enrich and expand the understanding of African ecologies, thereby expanding inventories of possibilities as climate change response pathways. (This article is published in the thematic collection ‘African ecologies: literary, cultural and religious perspectives’, edited by Adriaan van Klinken, Simon Manda, Damaris Parsitau and Abel Ugba.)
本文介绍了有关 "非洲生态 "主题的特别部分：文学、文化和宗教 "专题部分的导言。文章探讨了当前有关非洲生态、环境和气候变化的跨学科学术领域，介绍了人文科学、社会科学和环境科学领域的研究成果。文章将这一特别章节定位在这一不断扩大的文献中，特别是将 "非洲生态 "这一概念作为启发式视角，研究如何看待包括人类在内的生物体与自然环境之间的关系和互动。文章认为，社会、文化、文学和宗教生态学为丰富和扩展对非洲生态的理解提供了重要视角，从而扩大了气候变化应对途径的可能性清单。(本文发表于由 Adriaan van Klinken、Simon Manda、Damaris Parsitau 和 Abel Ugba 编辑的专题集《非洲生态学：文学、文化和宗教视角》）。
{"title":"African ecologies: literary, cultural, and religious perspectives – introduction","authors":"Adriaan van Klinken, Simon Manda, Damaris Parsitau, Abel Ugba","doi":"10.5871/jba/012.a15","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/012.a15","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This article offers an introduction to the special section about the theme of ‘African Ecologies: Literature, Culture and Religion’. It explores the current interdisciplinary field of scholarship on ecology, environment, and climate change in Africa, mapping contributions from across the Humanities and the Social and Environmental Sciences. The article positions this special section in this ever-expanding body of literature, specifically deploying the notion of ‘African ecologies’ as a heuristic lens to examine how the relationship and interaction between living organisms, including humans, and the natural environment is conceived. It argues that social, cultural, literary, and religious ecology provide vital perspectives to enrich and expand the understanding of African ecologies, thereby expanding inventories of possibilities as climate change response pathways. (This article is published in the thematic collection ‘African ecologies: literary, cultural and religious perspectives’, edited by Adriaan van Klinken, Simon Manda, Damaris Parsitau and Abel Ugba.) \u0000","PeriodicalId":93790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the British Academy","volume":"54 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141109178","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article presents an axiological reading of Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, reframing its most famous sentence ‘one is not born, but becomes, a woman’ as a claim about femininity, love, and alienation under particular conditions of sexual hierarchy. Because this sentence is often taken to express the thesis of The Second Sex on social constructionist readings, Section 1 rejects the aptness of this approach on three grounds. Section 2 outlines an alternative, axiological reading, which better attends to all of the work’s parts, and to Beauvoir’s emphasis on the concrete inseparability of the physiological, sexual, economic, legal, religious, moral, and aesthetic dimensions of women’s situations. Section 3 turns to the sister ‘one is not born’ clause, in Volume I—‘one is not born, but becomes, a genius’—to show that Beauvoir’s account of frustrated freedom in The Second Sex concerns not only alienated labour, sex, and love, but also aesthetic creativity and moral invention. The article arises from a British Academy Lecture delivered on 17 October 2023.
{"title":"Femininity, love, and alienation: the genius of The Second Sex","authors":"Kate Kirkpatrick","doi":"10.5871/jba/012.a02","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/012.a02","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This article presents an axiological reading of Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, reframing its most famous sentence ‘one is not born, but becomes, a woman’ as a claim about femininity, love, and alienation under particular conditions of sexual hierarchy. Because this sentence is often taken to express the thesis of The Second Sex on social constructionist readings, Section 1 rejects the aptness of this approach on three grounds. Section 2 outlines an alternative, axiological reading, which better attends to all of the work’s parts, and to Beauvoir’s emphasis on the concrete inseparability of the physiological, sexual, economic, legal, religious, moral, and aesthetic dimensions of women’s situations. Section 3 turns to the sister ‘one is not born’ clause, in Volume I—‘one is not born, but becomes, a genius’—to show that Beauvoir’s account of frustrated freedom in The Second Sex concerns not only alienated labour, sex, and love, but also aesthetic creativity and moral invention. The article arises from a British Academy Lecture delivered on 17 October 2023.\u0000","PeriodicalId":93790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the British Academy","volume":"60 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141111474","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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