Unusual Mammalian Sex Determination Systems: A Cabinet of Curiosities

Therian mammals have among the oldest and most conserved sex-determining systems known to date. Any deviation from the standard XX/XY mammalian sex chromosome constitution usually leads to sterility or poor fertility, due to the high differentiation and specialization of the X and Y chromosomes. Nevertheless, a handful of rodents harbor so-called unusual sex-determining systems. While in some species, fertile XY females are found, some others have completely lost their Y chromosome. These atypical species have fascinated researchers for over 60 years, and constitute unique natural models for the study of fundamental processes involved in sex determination in mammals and vertebrates. In this article, we review current knowledge of these species, discuss their similarities and differences, and attempt to expose how the study of their exceptional sex-determining systems can further our understanding of general processes involved in sex chromosome and sex determination evolution.

KURT SCHWITTERS’ MERZ WORKS OUTSIDE THE SURFACE: MERZBAU

The objective of this study is to explore and interpret Kurt Schwitters’ outside-the-surface Merzbau works in terms of form-meaning relationship. The study was carried on according to hermeneutic model. Documents were used as data collection tool. The study group consists of Merzbau works by Kurt Schwitters. It has been found out by the data obtained that the Merzbau works the artist made in Hannover, Germany and Norway were destroyed, and that his work in England, which he started making in 1947, is his only Merzbau work that survives until today. In the study, analyses were made based on the photographs left from the works and correlations were made with other artists’ works produced at the time. It has been observed that Schwitters composed his works by assembling trashes and found objects to which he assigned his own meaning. It has been seen that this resembles Cabinet of Curiosities in Renaissance. By placing his Merz works on a space, Schwitters transformed them into installations. Therefore, it has been found out that there is a connection between V. Tatlin’s corner counter-reliefs and his transforming the object into an artwork by isolating its worldly task. It has also been observed that the artist influenced Art Povera with the materials he used. It has been stated that throughout his lifetime, some additions could be made on Merzbau works that he created on the basis of concepts such as limitlessness-irregularity-infinity, and therefore, the endpoint of his works can be related to his moment of death. Keywords: Kurt Schwitters, Dada, Installation, Inherent, Avant-garde

Cabinet of Curiosities, a Dwelling Place

This Instagram “Weekly Writing” assignment is a social-media-based, low-stakes, and longitudinal approach to teaching and experimenting with multimodal composition. Students create an account for the purposes of the class and follow each other. They post three times per week, sometimes freely and sometimes in response to a prompt or challenge. Together, we use the platform and its rich multimodal resources to consider how in-the-moment multimodal composing can spur invention, place the writer in the perpetual position of noticing, and create an archive of experience that holistically communicates beyond the author’s original intention. This article discusses the pedagogical rationale for this approach, along with the issues to consider before adopting and adapting this practice.

De Cuzco a Berlín en el siglo XIX: el gabinete de curiosidades de María Ana Centeno

Resumen: María Ana Centeno desarrolló su gabinete de curiosidades y antigüedades precolombinas en el Perú del siglo XIX, en un momento en que la creación de acervos de este tipo resultaba común entre la élite cuzqueña, cada vez más consciente de la importancia de las culturas precolombinas. Gran parte de la colección fue vendida por sus herederos al Museo Etnológico de Berlín, en una transacción determinada por el valor en alza de las piezas precolombinas en el mercado, y por el creciente interés de viajeros, científicos y exploradores por lugares como Perú, con manifestaciones culturales dignas de estudiar y coleccionar. En la presente investigación tratamos la formación de la colección Centeno y su posterior viaje, desde Cuzco a Berlín, relacionando su casuística con el contexto y las circunstancias de la época. Asimismo, tomamos como ejemplo la referida colección para reflexionar sobre la pertenencia del patrimonio, y el lugar en que las piezas precolombinas peruanas deberían resguardarse.Abstract: María Ana Centeno created her cabinet of curiosities and pre-Columbian antiquities during the nineteenth century. In Peru, at that time, the creation of that kind of collection was common between the elite, who were conscious of the increasing value of the pre-Hispanic cultures and antiquities. Most of the pieces of the collection were sold by María Ana’s sons to the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. It was a transaction determined by the rising value of pre-Columbian pieces on the market, and also by the growing interest of travelers, scientists, and explorers in places like Peru. In that paper, it is addressed the formation of Centeno’s collection, and its move from Cuzco to Berlin; all that having into account the contexts and circumstances of the time. Besides, it is made a reflection on the cultural heritage’s owners, and the place where the Peruvian pre-Columbian pieces should be.

New World Objects of Knowledge: A Cabinet of Curiosities

From the late fifteenth century to the present day, the New World has been plundered and pilfered for its many ‘treasures’ and ‘wonders’ and as a consequence, many of its natural and cultural productions have been scattered around the world, often hidden in libraries, museums and private collections. New World Objects of Knowledge: A Cabinet of Curiosities gathers a fascinating sampling of these scattered objects in forty richly illustrated essays written by world-leading scholars in the field. We discover the secret, often global, itineraries of such things as Aztec codices and Inca mummies, colonial paintings and indigenous maps, giant tortoises and precious hummingbirds.

Brand of Brothers?

This article explores two modes of innocence at work in the making of the Humboldt Forum, Germany’s biggest cultural project. It examines the legacy of the historical castle’s “cabinet of curiosities” and the elevation of the Humboldt brothers, especially Alexander von Humboldt, to patron saints. Through these cases, the article identifies an exculpatory mode of innocence focused on the past and an anticipatory mode focused on the future. These modes, it argues, exemplify a tension between the imagination of history as a timeless realm that eschews redemption and as fungible materials that can be recombined to start anew and redeem the past.