AIDŌS did not prevent her: An intertextual approach to Komnene's depictions of women in positions of power

<p>Anna Komnene depicts several women in positions of power in the Alexiad, the earliest extant historiographical text written by a woman from the Byzantine period. The intertextual qualities of these depictions of women, however, have not received much attention and indeed the impact of the gender of the author on the text is a topic which skews much of the scholarship. This thesis aims to show that several signposted quotations of earlier source texts reveal an author in the act of contemplating the expectations of gendered behaviour for her narrative subjects, including her own authorial persona. The chapters in this thesis focus on the depictions of four women and the roles they play in the Alexiad: Anna Dalassene, Gaita of Salerno, Emma of Hauteville and Anna Komnene. First, the construction of one or more of these characters is broken down and the evidence in the text concerning the positions of power held by the woman is analysed. Second, an intertextual reading of a passage related to the characterisation of each woman is posed in order to discuss what is similar or different concerning the source text or texts and the target text. The rhetorical goals behind the depictions of the women are also considered, and their actions in relation to the societal expectations of appropriate gendered behaviour for women and men during the Byzantine Empire. The four case studies demonstrate that Komnene depicted these women using their power in the service of the family unit while showing due deference to their fathers, husbands or adult sons. Furthermore, the “double consciousness” of Komnene, as revealed in these depictions, shows her commitment to the contemplation of the power of women and the ways in which women could utilise their self-control to manipulate expectations of gendered behaviour and thus protect their family units, and therefore the means by which they came to hold power. The outcome of this research contributes to efforts to better understand representations of gender in the literature of the Byzantine empire, deepens the discussions of Komnene’s use of source texts and expands on the insights of earlier scholarship.</p>

AIDŌS did not prevent her: An intertextual approach to Komnene's depictions of women in positions of power

<p>Anna Komnene depicts several women in positions of power in the Alexiad, the earliest extant historiographical text written by a woman from the Byzantine period. The intertextual qualities of these depictions of women, however, have not received much attention and indeed the impact of the gender of the author on the text is a topic which skews much of the scholarship. This thesis aims to show that several signposted quotations of earlier source texts reveal an author in the act of contemplating the expectations of gendered behaviour for her narrative subjects, including her own authorial persona. The chapters in this thesis focus on the depictions of four women and the roles they play in the Alexiad: Anna Dalassene, Gaita of Salerno, Emma of Hauteville and Anna Komnene. First, the construction of one or more of these characters is broken down and the evidence in the text concerning the positions of power held by the woman is analysed. Second, an intertextual reading of a passage related to the characterisation of each woman is posed in order to discuss what is similar or different concerning the source text or texts and the target text. The rhetorical goals behind the depictions of the women are also considered, and their actions in relation to the societal expectations of appropriate gendered behaviour for women and men during the Byzantine Empire. The four case studies demonstrate that Komnene depicted these women using their power in the service of the family unit while showing due deference to their fathers, husbands or adult sons. Furthermore, the “double consciousness” of Komnene, as revealed in these depictions, shows her commitment to the contemplation of the power of women and the ways in which women could utilise their self-control to manipulate expectations of gendered behaviour and thus protect their family units, and therefore the means by which they came to hold power. The outcome of this research contributes to efforts to better understand representations of gender in the literature of the Byzantine empire, deepens the discussions of Komnene’s use of source texts and expands on the insights of earlier scholarship.</p>

Role of Emotional Attachment and Reciprocity in Sons’ Perceived Care Motivation for Parental Figures

The collapse of the traditional Japanese household system and the subsequent social advancement of women has led supporting parents as a family matter, and led more men to assume caregiving roles; however, very few studies have focused on sons’ care motivation. This study aimed to understand adult sons’ perceived care motivation and to examine the respective related factors of emotional attachment and reciprocity. A total of 1322 men (M [age] = 44.5) participated in a web-based questionnaire survey. Perceived care motivation for providing five types of support (e.g., helping with daily activities and housework) to each parent and parent-in-law was assessed. Regression analyses revealed that emotional attachment with parents and parents-in-law predicted perceived care motivation for all types of support. Furthermore, the role of reciprocity was indicated by the association between rearing by mother-in-law and son-in-law’s motivation to provide assistance in financial matters, housework, and visiting a hospital.

Establishing Control: Political Patronage Networks

This chapter describes in depth how MBS and MBZ have established their control through building highly personalized political patronage networks. Firstly, their creation of an ‘inner circle’ of closest relatives is considered, including most prominently their full brothers and (in MBZ’s case) their adult sons. Secondly, their creation of a parallel circle of non-ruling family technocrats and gatekeepers is discussed, including key friends and cronies who have been entrusted with major political and economic portfolios. Thirdly, the special circumstances surrounded the treatment of the formal heads of state is explained--in MBS’s case his father Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud (the King of Saudi Arabia), and in MBZ’s case his older half-brother Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (the ruler of Abu Dhabi and President of the UAE). Fourthly, the management of other influential ruling family members is studied, including the co-option or coercion of half-brothers and uncles (and in MBZ’s case senior members of other UAE ruling families). Finally, MBS and MBZ’s supervision of other, lesser ruling family members is reflected upon, including the small minority who have either been actively repressed or have flown into exile.

From Power of Bonds to a Medieval State

Two fundamentally different phases of social development in archaic Scandinavia can be identified. Judging by the fact that the long house of frame construction of the patrilocal extended family, who had been keeping an oðal for generations, emerged in the early Scandinavian Bronze Age around 1800 BC and existed for three millennia, including the so-called “Viking Age”, it is possible to assume that the traditional Scandinavian society of bonds had existed all this time until 1179–1180 in Denmark. The odel system had developed; this land was inherited by males and passed down from generation to generation. Often three generations of relatives — the head of the oðal with his wife and his adult sons with their wives and children as well as numerous household members and house slaves — lived under the same roof in a long house with central rectangular hearths along the axis. The king had the right to call out militia of bonds, which under the leadership of its leaders — strong and wealthy bonds — was quite capable of resisting the king’s not large squad and often dictated terms to it. The kings were chosen at þings — assemblies of armed men of districts where legal issues were settled. The formation of early medieval states in Denmark took place in the last quarter of the 12th century. The king Valdemar and Bishop Absalon after a period of the so-called “civil wars” supported by professional heavy cavalry defeated the militia and disarmed bonds, who were now assigned only agriculture work, taxes to the crown and the church and service to the new feudal lords.

Downward transfer of support and care: understanding the cultural lag in rural China

The Chinese culture of filial piety has historically emphasised children's responsibility for their ageing parents. Little is understood regarding the inverse: parents’ responsibility and care for their adult children. This paper uses interviews with 50 families living in rural China's Anhui Province to understand intergenerational support in rural China. Findings indicate that parents in rural China take on large financial burdens in order to sustain patrilineal traditions by providing housing and child care for their adult sons. These expectations lead some rural elders to become migrant workers in order to support their adult sons while others provide live-in grandchild-care, moving into their children's urban homes or bringing grandchildren into their own homes. As the oldest rural generations begin to require ageing care of their own, migrant children are unable to provide the sustained care and support expected within the cultural tradition of xiao. This paper adds to the small body of literature that examines the downward transfer of support from parents to their adult children in rural China. The authors argue that there is an emerging cultural rupture in the practice of filial piety – while the older generation is fulfilling their obligations of upbringing and paying for adult children's housing and child care; these adult children are not necessarily available or committed to the return of care for their ageing parents. The authors reveal cultural and structural lags that leave millions of rural ageing adults vulnerable in the process of urbanisation in rural China.

Reciprocal Associations Between Normative, Affectual, and Associational Solidarity With Parents in Young Adults

Intergenerational solidarity has become important as close family ties mobilize the provision of social support across generations and contribute to the family wellbeing. One popular approach to studying intergenerational cohesion in aging families is through the theoretical construct of intergenerational solidarity. However, less is known about the longitudinal and reciprocal associations between normative, affectual, and associational solidarity with mothers and fathers among young-adult children in the transition to adulthood. On the basis of the theoretical construct of intergenerational solidarity, we examined the reciprocal associations between three dimensions of intergenerational solidarity (normative, affectual, and associational) with parents in young-adult children from their early twenties to late thirties. Data were derived from 287 mother-son, 325 mother-daughter, 262 father-son, and 297 father-daughter groups who participated in the Longitudinal Study of Generations between 2000 and 2016. Autoregressive cross-lagged model with latent variables predicted the causal relations between three dimensions of solidarity across four parent-child groups. We found that young-adult sons’ perceived associational solidarity with parents predicted normative solidarity over time, whereas young-adult daughters’ perceived affectual solidarity with mothers predicted normative solidarity over time. In addition, young-adult daughters’ perceived normative solidarity predicted affectual solidarity for fathers over time. The present study found that young-adult sons and daughters have different ways establishing normative solidarity in their early twenties to late thirties according to parents’ gender. In addition, this study found that normative solidarity is beneficial for young-adult daughters developing emotional closeness with fathers over time.

Exploring the Factors Influencing Kaohsiung Residents’ Intentions to Choose Age-Friendly Housing

Taiwan’s declining birthrate has changed the housing market, which should become more consumer-oriented in the future. In particular, age-friendly housing has become a salient housing choice among buyers. Age-friendly housing consists of housing units that are suitable for occupants of any age. There are three concepts underlying such housing: aging in place, multigenerational-multiunit living arrangements, and lifetime homes. This study aimed to examine the factors affecting consumers’ choice of age-friendly housing. The participants were residents of Kaohsiung City, and data analysis was performed using a binary logistic model. The empirical results indicated that adult sons/daughters, residents who currently live in the city center, residents who have a high or medium monthly family income, residents who are currently part of a stem family, residents who desire to live under multigenerational-multiunit living arrangements, residents who desire to be a part of a stem family, and residents who prioritize housing type when house-buying are significantly more likely to choose age-friendly housing. These results can serve as a reference regarding age-friendly housing investments for investors, as well as for house buyers who are deliberating between age-friendly housing and ordinary housing.