Communicative Resurrection: Letters to the Dead in the Israeli Newspaper

Aronis, Carolin

doi:10.1111/jcom.12334

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 26 publications

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“…It is the border, which separates and creates the difference between realms and people, that attracts communication (Simmel 1997). Communication looks to overcome obstacles and borderlines (Peters 1999, Aronis 2017. Or, if we push Gehl's (2011) argument one step further, it is not only about borders as means of creating communication, but their openings, their 'holes' (Peperzak 1993, p. 66), that enable people to move from one side to the other, where boundaries are flexible, entwining the private and public together.…”

Section: Communication and Architectural Liminalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Architectural liminality: the communicative ethics of balconies and other urban passages

Aronis

2020

Cultural Studies

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In this article, I offer a phenomenological examination of the communicative nature of architectural features located between the private and public spheres of the city. These include balconies, porches, doors, windows, fire escapes, and entrances, which enable important communicative practices for inhabitants and passers-by. Focusing specifically on their liminality as an elemental condition for communication, I use the umbrella term Urban Liminal Architecture and explore their simultaneous, paradoxical operative modes of connectivity and separation, along with playfulness and freedom. This builds up to the critical examination of communication in relation to architectural liminality, with a specific focus on interactions between stranger inhabitants and passers-by and ethical practices. I argue that liminal architecture contributes to the values of 'the communicative city' and to the understanding of the essence of communication as transmitting and sharing, while it embodies the materiality of communication. I call to view the site of urban liminal architecture as a symbol and a condition of an ethical relationship with the Other.

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Section: Communication and Architectural Liminalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Architectural liminality: the communicative ethics of balconies and other urban passages

Aronis

2020

Cultural Studies

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Communication as travel: The genre of letters to the dead in public media

Aronis

2019

Explorations in Media Ecology

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The phenomenon of personally addressing the dead through letters published in public media is a prevalent communicative practice that has earned little academic notice. This practice disrupts some common communication principles and provides us with new understandings of how communication works – by travelling, rather than reaching an end. To encapsulate and characterize this phenomenon, this article focuses on an Israeli case study of letters written to the dead and published in popular newspapers. I use a media ecology approach to phenomenologically classify five sets of characteristics in order to stimulate future discussion and analysis.

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‘Phantom Letters’ in Various Cultures

Orlova

2021

CIPh&PL

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Cross-Сultural communication cannot exist without interaction, both oral and written. One of the types of written communication is epistolary text. This paper considers one kind of epistolary texts, the so-called ‘dead letter’, i.e. a letter which cannot be delivered to the recipient because this person does not exist. The author introduces the term ‘phantom letter’ since a corresponding term has not been found in the Russian language, besides the existing English term ‘dead letter’ does not fully reveal the phenomenon under discussion. The materials of the article are 14 personal letters and 24 literary texts in the English language belonging to the cultures of Ancient Egypt, the USA, Great Britain and Israel. The methodology of the research is based on the discourse analysis of the personal and fiction discourses. The following types of ‘phantom letters’ have been studied: letters to the dead, letters to the future generations and literary texts which are letters to some famous historical or fictional characters. Special attention is paid to various reasons why people have been writing such epistolary texts: the writer may do it on practical grounds, as a form of trauma counselling and/or resurrecting the loved one or information. As for the literary texts, the author’s aim is to create a humorous effect since all these letters are parodies. Chronotope is also considered, which is especially important in letters to the dead and letters to the future. Discourse formulas typical for some types of phantom letters have been analyzed. The last part of the paper deals with precedent texts, because understanding of fictional dead letters is drawn entirely from the knowledge of precedent. The conclusion states that there are various types of phantom letters in various cultures, they are normally personal and they are written for various reasons, however, they possess common features. Some prospects for further study in this area are also outlined.

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Communicative Resurrection: Letters to the Dead in the Israeli Newspaper

Cited by 3 publications

References 26 publications

Architectural liminality: the communicative ethics of balconies and other urban passages

Architectural liminality: the communicative ethics of balconies and other urban passages

Communication as travel: The genre of letters to the dead in public media

‘Phantom Letters’ in Various Cultures

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