This paper sets out to make a comparative study between James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Alasdair Gray’s Lanark, analysing the way in which the narrative structure in the two novels is used to…
Call for Papers MSA, Vol 7, No 2, November 2020
Architecture, psychology and self: Explorations of the space(s) between The academic journal Messages, Sages and Ages, based at the English Department, University of Suceava, Romania, invites contributions for an issue focusing on (narratives of) architecture, psychology and self. The theme issue…
Four-Hour Teacher Training Symposium, October 26th, 2019
The Department of Foreign Studies and Silvia Manoliu Association for Anglophone Studies are holding their 1st Four-Hour Teacher Training Symposium on October 26th, 2019 Teacher Trainers: 1. Tinela NASTASI & Anca DĂSCĂLIUC Using Movies and Videos in the English Class…
Messages, Sages and Ages, Vol. 6, No. 1, (2019)
Editor: Roberto Paura
READING REALITY THROUGH SCIENCE FICTION – Roberto Paura & Onoriu Colăcel
Big questions over the future of humankind have traditionally given legitimacy to popular stories about science and technology. Science fiction has long been credited with the ability to anticipate how audiences are prone to interpret the promises of technological progress.…
TRUE NAMES, TRUE NYMS. THE POWER OF TECHNOLOGY AND THE FUTURE OF IDENTITY – Enrico Beltramini
This essay argues that for cypherpunk activists, the power of technology over individuals and the nature of people’s identity provide the points of difference with cyberpunk writers. For the cyberpunks, identities are framed in context, so that an aggressive elite…
SF NARRATIVES AND THE ORIGINS OF (CULTURAL) REALITY – Katarzyna Filutowska
This paper examines SF narratives, in particular works such as William Gibson`s “Neuromancer” and “Idoru”, or George Orwell`s “Nineteen Eighty-Four”. It aims to demonstrate the original, transcendental character of narrative related to its ability of reaching the very origins of…
RE-CYCLING THE ISLAND-TROPE IN CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE FICTION: MORTAL ENGINES (2018) – Monika Kosa
A recurring trope in art, the Island represents a never-ending source of inspiration for storytellers. As a culturally and historically conditioned notion, the Island has undergone several conceptual changes. Christian Rivers’ Mortal Engines (2018), a multilayered film adaptation of Phillip…
HUMAN INTERACTIONS WITH TECHNOLOGY: INVESTIGATING THE POSTHUMAN IN HBO’s WESTWORLD – Zita Hüsing
In the first moments of the show Westworld, an unidentified voice asks the character Dolores: “Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?” (“The Original,” 00:02:30-00:02:33). This inquiry invites both Dolores and the viewer to examine not only their…
THE WARNING FUNCTION OF POST-APOCALYPTIC SCIENCE FICTION – Kateřina Houfková
In 1974, the board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists created the Doomsday clock, using the imagery of apocalypse (symbolised by midnight) and a nuclear explosion (countdown to zero) to demonstrate how close we are to destroying our civilization…
DEATH POSTPONED: CRYONICS AND A TRANSHUMAN FUTURE – Aline Ferreira
This essay reflects on the concept of cryonics as a technology that will in the future enable cryopreserved people to be returned to life when the cure for the disease that killed them is found. The longstanding dream of prolonging…
Call for Papers MSA, Vol 7, No 1, August 2020
“Intercultural Conversations” The academic journal Messages, Sages and Ages (http://www.msa.usv.ro/), based at the English Department, University of Suceava, Romania, invites contributions for an issue on intercultural conversations. The theme issue is edited by Aoileann Ní Éigeartaigh (Dundalk Institute of Technology).…
Summer School “English as a Jar of Knowledge 4” (15-19.07.2019)
Under the auspices of Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava and Suceava County School Inspectorate, Silvia Manoliu Association for Anglophone Studies, and Dimitrie Pacurariu Secondary School, Scheia, are holding their English as a Jar of Knowledge 4 Summer School (15-19.07.2019) The 2019 instalment of…
Teacher Development Day: A Four-Hour Seminar on English Teaching and Learning, May 11th, 2019
Teacher Development Day, May 11th 2019 The Department of Foreign Studies and Silvia Manoliu Association for Anglophone Studies are holding their Four-Hour Seminar on English Teaching and Learning in our series of events Teacher Development Day on May 11th, 2019…
Call for Papers MSA, Vol 6, No 2, November 2019
Archetypes and/or Stereotypes – Mapping Socio-Cultural Realities The academic journal Messages, Sages and Ages (http://www.msa.usv.ro/), based at the English Department, University of Suceava, Romania, invites contributions for an issue on archetypes and/or stereotypes. The theme issue is edited by Dan…