An increasingly influential approach to solving human ecological problems is an innovative design practice known as biomimicry. The Biomimicry Institute, a major stakeholder in the Biomimicry Movement, promotes biomimicry as a practice that mimics nature’s genius to solve human challenges and provides hope of sustainable futures. Despite increasing global interest in the practice, so far little is known about the value placed on biomimicry within practitioner communities. Employing a corpus-assisted discourse-analytic approach, this paper explores the ways video narratives shared by (...) practitioners affiliated with and curated by the Biomimicry Institute position biomimicry as a sacred practice. Drawing on Stibbe’s ecolinguistic approach and Hobbs’ functional religious language framework, we observe an overarching discursive pattern of conversion narrative (incorporating both personal and collective storylines) which highlights the sacred significance of the movement. We explore how the linguistic strategies underlying these conversion narratives centre human experience, mark group identity and attract new converts, while constructing an ecologically ambivalent discourse. In particular, we find that use of vague language obscures the precise nature of involvement in the movement and blurs the lines between member and non-member, contributing to the conversion narratives’ potential as powerful proselytising tools. (shrink)

The construction of myths and legends takes place departing from specific historical events. These exert a significant intluence on the view of the past in generations to come, which in tum is essential for both historic interpretation and the configuration of national character. This is specially so when we ar concerned with the confroiitation with another country, as it is the case of the Armada between Spain and England. It is necessary to situate in its right place this significant historical (...) event in order to contribute to eliminate the deviations and distortions that exist around the myth. (shrink)

This book makes available again a long out-of-print translation of a major sixteenth-century philosophical text. Lipsius' De Constantia (1584) is an important Humanist text and a key moment in the reception of Stoicism. A dialogue in two books, conceived as a philosophical consolation for those suffering through contemporary religious wars, it proved immensely popular in its day and formed the inspiration for what has become known as 'Neostoicism'. This movement advocated the revival of Stoic ethics in a form that would (...) be palatable to a Christian audience. Lipsius deploys Stoic arguments concerning appropriate attitudes towards emotions and external events. He also makes clear which parts of Stoic philosophy must be rejected, including its materialism and its determinism. De Constantia was translated into a number of vernacular languages soon after its original publication in Latin. Of the English translations which were made, that by Sir John Stradling (1595) became a classic; it was last reprinted in 1939. This new edition offers a lightly revised version of Stradling's translation, along with a new introduction, notes, and bibliography. (shrink)