Articles in this Volume

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The Sensory Turn in Baroque Architecture: An Experience Strategy in the Counter-Reformation Period and Its Contemporary Implications
In this article, Baroque architecture is reimagined not as an ornamental style but as an intentional instrument of the senses constructed in pursuit of the propaganda objectives of the Counter-Reformation and absolutist regime. It argues that Baroque was an instrumental amalgamation of spatial, dramaturgical, and intermedial forms exquisitely orchestrated to provoke felt devotion and signify time-power. Exemplars, from the Baroque spectacle of Bernini’s theatres in Rome to the Neo-palladian geometry of Borromini’s churches, highlight in architecture a rhetoric of experience designed to support theological dogma and the opulence of the ruling monarch, and their obsolescence following the onset of Enlightenment rationalism is situated neither as a singular endpoint but as a shifting of its foundational mechanisms. This final section shows how to situate this analytic sensory turn within a historically informed debate between the contemporary moment, where the post-digital Neo-Baroque draws upon the Baroque to destabilize form, and deconstructivism’s own crisis in form that acknowledges it has no longer found form as solid material elsewhere. Finally, it concludes that architecture, with its sensationalism (and through its connection with belief), remains capable of deeply-ethically charged moves as an always already politically salient way to make people believe.
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History and Approaches: A Literature Review of Horror Movies in America
This essay analyzes the history of American horror movies, pointing out the features of different periods and classic works of American horror movies. Using a certain cultural perspective to see how these films reflect the society. Horror film characters are not born out of thin air, they have certain thoughts, wishes, and reflections even reflecting the general atmosphere of the entire society. Ranging from the Gothic of the silent era, to the rise of the classic monster, to the transformation of the Cold War into science fiction thrillers, to psychological horror, to the rise of social horror in the New Hollywood era, to self-reference in the age of postmodernism, and finally to the rich and diverse "art film horror" of today, it is a long and arduous journey. The form and evolution of horror films are not accidental, they are closely related to social reality, which reflects the changes in the deepest fear of people and the appearance of people’s desire. With it we could understand collective imagination and the very deep worries about “the other” during the age in question, and also how the public constantly questions and ponders on the moral boundary, power game and society order amidst social structure transformation.
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“Pickling” History with Words: A Post-colonial Interpretation of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children
Midnight’s Children, by British-Indian author Salman Rushdie, takes the birth of its protagonist Saleem Sinai at the exact moment of India’s independence in 1947 as its narrative starting point. Through Saleem’s psychic connection with a thousand other “midnight’s children,” the novel recounts the turbulent history of post-independence India. The mystery surrounding Saleem’s origins serves as a metaphor for the identity crisis inherent in the postcolonial condition, revealing the complex relationship between cultural hybridity and national identity. In Rushdie’s hands, history is “pickled” like pickles, where fact and myth intermingle and coexist. He uses magical elements as a flavoring agent, skillfully deconstructing the Western rationalist view of history and transforming India from a described object into a self-interpreting subject. The numerous metaphors in the text reflect the malformation of individuals and society by colonial power, with themes of language, culture, and national resistance interwoven, constituting the core concerns of postcolonial literature. Therefore, employing post-colonialism as the theoretical framework, this paper begins with the social alienation precipitated by colonial rule to analyze the interaction between individual destiny and national history in Midnight’s Children, and to explore the cultural and political implications behind the birth, development, and tragic end of the “midnight’s children” collective. Furthermore, the author hopes this study will enrich current literary scholarship on post-colonialism and provide a valuable reference.
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The Integration of Ecological Prose and Female Writing: A Multi-dimensional Interpretation of Ecological Narratives in Ai Ping’s Works
Ai Ping is a representative writer of contemporary ecological prose in China. Her ecological prose embodies both ecological and feminist consciousness. By employing a distinctive female perspective as the starting point, it successfully achieves a profound integration of ecological prose and female writing. Based on the current status of domestic ecological prose research, Ai Ping's prose Green Elegy, and the collection of essays, Hidden in the Vast Time, this study focuses on the ecological narrative approach in her works for analysis. The research further reveals the unique value and significance of integrating ecological writing and female writing in her creation. Not only does it offer new insight for expanding the gender dimension of ecological prose research, but it also provides a narrative experience for the creation and research of contemporary ecological literature.
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India’s Road of Independence, from Late 1800s to 1947s
This essay will explain India’s road to Independence from the late 1800s to 1947. It began with early nationalist leaders such as Sir Surendranath Banerjee, who supported more reforms and rights for Indian people under British rule. Early movements of Indian Nationalism started with petitions, more Indian political participation and peaceful protests. Over time, new leaders and new events pushed for a stronger reform. One of the most significant figures of the Indian Independence Movement is Mahatma Gandhi. After joining the Indian National Congress, a congress that seeks more Indian participation in Politics under British rules, Gandhi encouraged more peaceful protest and civil disobedience, such as the significant salt march and non-cooperation movement that inspired millions of Indians to fight for freedom. Gandhi successfully united people across India under different religions and social classes together and fought for independence. Some events in India pushed the independence movement more as Indians are tired of the poor treatment from British rule. The tragedies from the Bengal Famine of 1943 was an example that revealed failures in British policies of their rule of India. With the anger and dissatisfaction of Indian people, the Quit India Movement happened as people were frustrated and believed independence from British rule would be necessary. In 1947, the British passed the Indian Independence Act, finally ending the 190 years of British rule in India. However, the new nation was split into two nations: India and Pakistan, and this split created further violence and conflicts post independence. However, India’s independence would also become a significant event during the decolonization, and lead to more countries in Africa and Asia gaining their independence from colonial rules later.
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