Groundings UG is an accredited academic journal for undergraduate students at the University of Glasgow, supported by the Glasgow University Union Board of Management and the University Chancellor's Office. The Journal was established in 2007 under the stewardship of the Dialectic Society, who published and oversaw the project until after the 2018 edition, when ownership was transferred to the Glasgow University Union’s Libraries Committee (GUU). Excluding the years of 2009, 2020, and 2021, the Journal has been published annually- including a special edition in collaboration with the other Ancient Universities of Scotland (Groundings- Ancients), which ran between 2013 and 2018. These previous editions have been a resounding success, enabling the publication of well-over 200 student authors to date– many of whom have since gone on to lead world-changing careers, from academics at Yale through to gaining (and remaining in) careers in academic publishing itself. A student-led, peer-reviewed journal like Groundings is a rare thing throughout the academic world, and we pride ourselves on the opportunities and exposure to the academic process we are able to provide at the University, both to our authors and the whole editorial team.
The CC BY 4.0 license is a Creative Commons license. This is a non-copyleft free license that is good for art and entertainment works, and educational works. It is compatible with all versions of the GNU GPL; however, like all CC licenses, it should not be used on software. People are free to: Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format; Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms. But they must conform to the following terms: Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits. Please check individual article PDF copies to see if any additional restrictions apply.
The postmodernist re-evaluation of historical study has led to an awareness of the value of the moving image to the historian. Film can present us with glimpses of a past independent of discourse and its unique link with reality carries with it inevitable assumptions of authenticity. Yet the selection and manipulation of material by the filmmaker, and the dependence on causality or the establishment of ‘fact’, makes historical documentary as problematic as any other mode of historiography. National history is shaped as national identity, and, ultimately, acts of commemoration say as much about the present as the past.
Copyright (c) 2007 Laura Smith https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A shared sense of identity within a state is a stabilising structure allowing a focus for citizens to rally around. As a multi-ethnic state Russia has always been faced with the problem of how to imbue its citizens with a sense of identity that strengthens the state without causing dissent among the majority ethnic Russians or the many different minorities encapsulated within its territory. The choice between a civic based identity and an ethnically based national identity has faced the ruling apparatus for hundreds of years, and still poses a problem for both the people and the government of today’s Russia.
Copyright (c) 2007 Rhiannon J. Price https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Muriel Spark as Auto-Biographer in Curriculum Vitae
Examining Muriel Spark’s main aims as an auto-biographer in her work Curriculum Vitae brings important resources in the exploration of the genre of autobiographical writing. This, with theoretical engagement, allows consideration of the critical issues surrounding the roles of author and reader in the construction of the literary self. Spark demands the reader participate in the construction of textual meaning; overturning the conventions of autobiography, satirising its claims to omniscience and highlighting the impossibility of an authentic voice with regards to the self.
Copyright (c) 2007 Anna Kirkwood https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Inequality and Identity in Contemporary Processes of Labour Market Restructuring
Contemporary processes of labour market restructuring have resulted in increasing social and spatial inequalities in the United Kingdom. While the well-discussed issues of class, race and gender continue to be correlated to inequality, the decline in numbers of manufacturing jobs and rise in low-level service work has brought a new reality of identity-correlation. To remain employed, workers must increasingly present an identity that is appealing to employers: one that transcends geography and current job role. Thus, in today’s labour market with its increasing economic polarisation, previously strong social and work identities are challenged by the logic of capital.
Copyright (c) 2007 Andrew C. Forsyth https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Morality is essential to human identity. Since Darwin and Wallace proposed natural selection to explain the complexities of organisms, evolutionary biologists have sought explanations for all aspects of human nature including morality. One way to establish how far morality is exclusive to humans is to examine moral precursors in closely-related species. The advantage of such a characteristic initially seems contrary to the ‘selfish’ process of natural selection, however various ways in which such a trait has adaptive value have been proposed. Also, the extent to which morality is actually part of human identity, a product of sophisticated human culture rather than being hard-wired into our minds by evolutionary process, is a fascinating and current area of scientific dialogue.
Copyright (c) 2007 Matthew Rutherford https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
While staring right at us, the varied representations of eyes in sculpture have largely gone unrecognised. Their consideration is essential, however, for the contemporary viewer’s perception of, and identification with, the political and mythology subjects of eighteenth and nineteenth century statuary. A historical overview of the depiction of eyes reveals contradictions in neo-classical sculptural practices: a move from the emulation of the antique, with coloured eyes, to the presentation of uncarved marble eyeballs. This is highly significant for the individualisation of a statue is most achieved through the expression of the eyes both in facial appearance and gaze.
Copyright (c) 2007 Anna Vermehren https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Impacts of Colonial Law and Policy on Indigenous Family Life in Australia
From the moment that Britain colonised the landmass of Australia, the continuation of traditional Indigenous family life was threatened. It has even been argued that the policy and legislation of successive governments attempted to destroy the rights of Indigenous peoples to their children. Indigenous children were removed from their communities. These children are now known as the Stolen Generations. Past colonial law and policy continues to impact upon the enjoyment of traditional family life with disproportionately high removal rates of Indigenous children from their families and communities. Nationwide solutions such as the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle have gone some way in redressing this issue. In its present form, however, it remains a victim of poor implementation, funding, and inadequate consultation with Indigenous communities.
Copyright (c) 2007 Fraser A. W. Janeczko https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
At the heart of the idea of constitutionalism lies a paradox: on the one hand, the legitimacy of governmental power rests on the consent of individuals; on the other, such consent can only be expressed indirectly through already-established institutional forms. The political will, whether as a product of political representation, or as a rare moment of revolution, seems to be in a relationship of mutual antagonism with individual liberties. But if the moral reasoning underlying rights can only be the product of politics, then it is clear that politics must prevail over law and constitutional reason.
Copyright (c) 2008 James A. Grant https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Freedom is a word we hear a lot. Yet it is often unclear what is meant by it. Recent anti-terrorism laws have been argued by some as safeguarding freedoms and argued by others as restricting them. In this paper, I aim to create and defend an explanation of the nature of freedom that is practical and useful. Through offering a set of criteria, and answering potential criticisms, I conclude that “freedom” must consider people’s strongest desires and take into account the multitude of internal barriers to the fulfilment of these desires. Such a definition will hopefully help us gain a clearer understanding of when our liberty is under threat: putting us in a better position to defend it.
Copyright (c) 2008 David P. Macpherson https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The study of democratic transition, or what makes some nations more conducive to the rise of democratic institutions than others, is vitally important in the modern world. Lithuania and Belarus are generally overlooked by literature on the subject of democratisation, but, due to their long historical ties and very different political paths since they established independence from the USSR, they provide an interesting case study into the historical reasons for the adoption of certain political systems. In brief, this article will deal with why since 1991 Lithuania has become democratic, whilst Belarus has become increasingly autocratic. To do this I compared the historical legacy of the interwar years in both states and focussed on the effects this period had on post-independence politics. This research revealed crucial differences, in that Lithuania’s experience of independent statehood laid the foundations for the later transition to democracy, whilst the failure to establish a sovereign Belarusian state made continued authoritarian rule far more likely. Overall this showed the importance of historical legacies when attempting to establish democracy.
Copyright (c) 2008 Benjamin Hiscox https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The legitimacy of the state has traditionally been a core element in how we understand the relationship between individuals and institutions in modernity. Its demise is therefore an important subject of analysis. The concept of globalisation has provided an important theoretical framework which explains many of the profound challenges to the legitimacy, and even existence, of the state. However, this framework risks perpetuating modernity’s tendency towards oversimplification by focusing too much on the state in particular and geopolitics in general, over other sites and processes of governance. The complexities of the problems must be reflected in theories proposing to answer them.
Copyright (c) 2008 Christopher M. J. Boyd https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
“This is for your own good” is often the aphorism of governments and social institutions in their claims upon our freedoms. Our obedience is framed as collective self-preservation, but can it ever be so simple? Yet philosophical debate often seems to overcomplicate the issue. This article argues that the responsible protection of our rights arises, instead, with a constant reappraisal of citizenship. Freedom and obedience are ultimately two sides of an abacus with objective counters with subjective values; each individual’s calculations must be represented for there to be an accurate model of obligation.
Copyright (c) 2008 Maitiu Corbett https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
If an agent acts so as to harm only himself, then is state interference with that action ever legitimate? Paternalistic legislation has been the subject of much debate. For John Stuart Mill, the only legitimate ground for state interference was the harm principle: state interference to prevent an actor harming others is legitimate; the state, however, may not interfere with actions which harm only the actor himself. I introduce a distinction between (1) long-term desires and short-term desires and (2) current desires and future desires. I will argue that state interference with current, long-term desires is never legitimate.
Copyright (c) 2008 Elouisa M. Leonard https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The significance of the changes that Sulla made to the Roman constitution, and to what extent these changes had been reversed by 70 B.C.
The time when Sulla rose to the dictatorship of the Roman Republic was one in which the power of the Senate was waning. On his accession Sulla implemented changes which sought to re-establish the authority of the Senate thus regaining stability within the state. Here I consider: the impact the reforms had on the existing Roman constitution; the reception of the reforms by different social groups; the political and social context surrounding their implementation and, where applicable, their reversal with the ultimate aim of establishing the reforms’ overall success in achieving the goals of their author.
Copyright (c) 2010 Ruth MacDonald https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
This article traces the manifold satirical and poetic manifestations of James B.V. Thomson’s questioning and sceptical attitude towards the progressivist agenda of the Victorian Britain. It presents both Thomson’s proudly blazoned ‘healthy scepticism’ from his biting satirical works, and the dark, contradictory spirit of Thomson’s most accomplished poetical work, The City of Dreadful Night , as two faces of the same moral attitude.
Copyright (c) 2010 Joanna Małecka https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The evolution burial practice among the Ertebølle
Archaeology has traditionally failed to identify the ability of individuals in the past to make conscious decisions and act creatively. Individuals with the power to act are referred to as agents, with the ability and creativity to make decisions and act independently. They are however constantly influenced by structural norms: deeply ingrained ideas about how to live their lives properly. This tension can be observed archaeologically in the cemeteries of the Ertebølle of Denmark. While there are clear norms in the burial practice, such as the style of inhumation and the type of grave goods, there are also variations. One grave has the body of a young woman and a baby boy, the child laid on the wing of a swan; another burial has full male grave goods, but the body of a dog. It is suggested here that these variations are evidence of individuals reacting to unusual situations and personalities. When people act in ways which do not fit into the usual structure there is the potential for both the structure and, as a result society, to change.
Copyright (c) 2010 Coralie Acheson https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Written on the cusp between two movements, El Incongruente by Ramon Gómez de la Serna eloquently illustrates the transition between Dada and Surrealism. Utilising key Dadaist principles – such as the renunciation of logic, chance combinations of chapters and the juxtaposition of contradictory imagery – combined with Surrealist elements such as a focus on dreams and the passing of time, Gómez de la Serna constructs the puzzling world in which Gustavo lives. El Incongruente breaks with literary tradition eulogizing Dadaist elements whilst still representing the harbinger of Surrealism.
Copyright (c) 2010 Emma Wadsworth-Jones https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
During the latter half of the eighteenth century Britain was in her ‘Golden Age’ of empire. From the defeat of the French in the Seven Years War (1756-1763) until the British loss of the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), she claimed herself as the ‘premiere’ kingdom of the world. But during this period, a growing unease prevailed amongst her people. This was social, with an increasing middle-class born of capitalism, economic through her trade and dominance of the seas, and political through the rise of anti-imperialism against the prevailing absolutist monarchy. In this essay I wish to examine how the sense of crisis in the aristocracy manifested itself in public depictions, namely the military portraits of Sir Joshua Reynolds, and to analyse through the social history of art the pictorial rhetoric that the artist employed for these paintings. I hope to be able to show that the determinations of these aristocratic patrons in asserting ‘heroism’ and ‘civic virtue’ through their portrayals unconsciously exposed their self-conscious condition. Their endeavours in creating a modern, patrician appeal reflected the fractured social and political circumstances of the period into which they desperately attempted to adjust, and maintain power.
Copyright (c) 2010 M. J. von Ferscht-Fountain https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Welsh and Drennan’s work demonstrates significant changes in the literary depiction of the Scottish nation. Moving away from traditional counter-colonial and separatist rhetoric, they direct attention to the problem of consumerism as a new colonising power. Their discourse is permeated by violence, which is also made manifest on a thematic level. Drennan’s novel inverts the implications of the treatment of violence by suggesting that it can be both self-inflicted and self-indulgent.
Copyright (c) 2010 Anikó Szilágyi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
How has NATO enlargement impacted on NATO-Russia relations?
Relations between NATO and the Russian Federation have been turbulent, particularly since the end of the Cold War and the ‘second wave’ of NATO expansion. Despite some initial evidence of cooperation between the two, this has not been present in the majority of cases, and Russian concerns have often been sidelined. Vital in understanding this relationship is the attitudes of both to the Baltic States, and the strain that their status brought to early Russo-NATO engagement. Indeed, perhaps the greatest tension has been caused by NATO expansion into those states, illustrating a central concern in contemporary international society.
Copyright (c) 2010 Tom Disney https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The proponents of modern Islamic fundamentalism draw on elements of the Islamic religion as a justification for terrorist acts. An examination of the sources of Islamic law – the Qur’an, the Sunnah and the principal Islamic schools of thought – questions the similarities between modern terrorism and the classical jihad doctrine. A distinction is drawn between the offensive and defensive theories of jihad and these are then applied to the modern context in which Islamic terrorism is perpetrated.
Copyright (c) 2010 Fraser D. Galloway https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Did Communist rule in the German Democratic Republic live up to its rhetoric regarding women’s emancipation?
Communism in the German Democratic Republic offers an interesting assessment of the reality/perception paradigm. Despite attempts to convey ideas of absolute equality between the sexes, as perceived by the legal and theoretical frameworks created by the state, the GDR remained unable to overcome realities of economics, the ‘double burden’ and entrenched gender roles within East German society to achieve their aims. By examining each of these aspects in turn, this article will illustrate that whilst some improvements regarding female emancipation were made in the public sphere, little progress was made within the private, and as such the reality remained at odds with the idealised perception of communist equality.
Copyright (c) 2011 Felicity Cooke https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A Transtheoretical Understanding of the Emotions
Individual theories of the emotions tend to isolate themselves from others and in doing so they necessarily lack the strengths of the other theories. The dogmatic spat between cognitive and non-cognitive theories of the emotions, which I explore here, is symptomatic of this insularity. To have a satisfying understanding of the emotions we must acknowledge the strengths and discard the weaknesses of each theory. As such, I argue that it is only through dialogue between theories that we can achieve a strong conceptualisation of the emotions.
Copyright (c) 2011 Rory E. Fairweather https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
For the sociologist there is rarely any fixed ‘reality’ which can be uncovered. All theoretical or methodological attempts to understand the social world are recognised as just one of many possible interpretations. However a sociological reading of Remembrance Sunday does have the capacity to highlight the misleading features of the common cultural perception of the practice. Offering in contrast, not necessarily a ‘reality’ to replace these views, but simply an alternative and critical perception.
Copyright (c) 2011 Hannah Mackenzie https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Memory is never a static snapshot of a past reality, but an organic process of recall; as much contingent on the demands of the present as the prism of each narrator’s perception of the past. A veteran’s perception of the Malayan Emergency sees acceptance of British involvement in Malaysia’s affairs as ‘what we had to do to give them freedom, otherwise they’d be wearing jackboots now’. The testimony a narrator produces is a window into their process of recall; what is remembered, what is forgotten and what is left unsaid: ‘People, whether young or old, remember what is important to them’. Ultimately, memory is a fallible tool subject to mutations over time; the weight of collective and cultural memories limit individual recollection. Personal narrative is a product of subjectivity.
Copyright (c) 2011 Dan Murtagh https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Death of a Virgin is arguably Caravaggio’s most renowned work, and is one of the most celebrated and recognisable paintings in the world, being one of the main attractions at the Louvre in Paris. The painting was also welcomed by contemporary artists who thought it radical in its naturalism. The painting was rejected, however, by the Carmelites that commissioned it. Catholic perceptions of the Virgin were of monumental perfectionism, an image that was not produced by Caravaggio in his pursuit of a realistic depiction of the holy scene.
Copyright (c) 2011 Ksenija Pegaseva https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
This retrospective of the art of Kristján Guðmundsson will address how by refining the elements of painting and drawing, while simultaneously engaging the viewer in new and more thorough ways, the artists broadens the capacity to interact with art by confusing the viewer’s own immediate perception. Through unconventional, visual ways of measuring time and altering audio perception, the realm of the art becomes ours as well. By requiring us as viewers to relinquish our senses to fully participate in the work, it broadens one’s perception of art to the essential level of how one perceives the world.
Copyright (c) 2011 David Winfield Norman https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Science is adequate in describing the phenomena that we experience on a daily basis, however it fails to adequately capture or even understand the human agent in all its perceptions, illogicality, emotions and feelings. Humanistic geography is a strand of human Geography that endeavours to disclose the complexity and ambiguity of human interactions with, and perceptions of, space and place.
Copyright (c) 2011 Jonathan Bradley https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Animation has long occupied the sidelines of cinema. As its essence resides not in the ability to capture the world as it really is but in an artistic representation of reality, conventional animation has often been discarded as an outdated by-product of cinema’s early technological development. However, with advances in digital animation, live-action film is becoming increasingly reliant on computer-generated images as a tool to manipulate the on-screen image, whether to subtly tweak aesthetics or to create entire scenes. The relationship between animation and live-action cinema is therefore changing. Some fear that, as a result, cinema will lose its credibility as an authoritative medium; that the hand of the digital animator will detract from cinema’s ability to effectively showcase the ‘real’. With reference to films containing varying degrees of digital manipulation, this paper will look at the effect that this hybridisation has on both animation and live-action cinema, and will show that, although it may detract from cinema’s authoritative nature, it also frees filmmakers from the constraints of conventional cinematic apparatus, allowing for the creation of new and exciting styles.
Copyright (c) 2011 James Opfer https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Literature in early modern Scotland was a medium for education which stemmed from the king and court to the wider community. Historically, Scotland’s literature conveys a penchant for moral and social reform in which the king acted as a spiritual figurehead used to represent the self and society as a whole, enabling the literature to centre around an identifiable exemplar. The parallels between David Lyndsay and William Lithgow are few – they wrote in very different times and were very different men – however, their poetry displays the unease they both felt in their kingless Scotland. The monarchical void forced both poets to identify themselves outwith the influence of the King and Court and to resituate their voices within the new political and cultural landscapes. This paper explores the way in which both poets used the form of dialogue to restructure the method of didactic transmission from taking the monarch as the spiritual moorings, to looking to reason and, as they believed to be the moral epitome, God.
Copyright (c) 2011 Lorna MacBean https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0