HOMBREDE

The Voynich-Manuskript...

... took in view by Sylvia Witt.

An article within an older edition of the P.M. History presented the Vonynich manuscript including some pictures from the old book. Curiosity was aroused. Especially, because already at first sight the described research had little in common with the document.
The Voynich manuscript is an old, hitherto undeciphered handwritten document around which great myths have grown. Neither the writing nor the language are known. Even the origin of the document is unexplained.
Here the somewhat different view at a supposedly great mystery.

The Voynich manuscript taken in view. Based on the scans of Jason Davies.

The Accused and his Script. On the Structural Analogy between Transactional Analysis and the Stories of Franz Kafka and Josef K.

In: Kafka - Schriftenreihe der Deutschen Kafka-Gesellschaft Volume 1. By Oliver Uschmann.

Every day people sabotage themselves and do not know why.
Open-eyed, they keep running back into the same courtroom of which they already know - here I will never obtain an acquittal. The theory of the unconscious script from Eric Berne's Transactional Analysis explains this pattern. Berne explained many of the tragic scripts of the human soul using classic fairy tales. This contribution explains them by means of the work and life of Kafka, who in his letters, his diaries and his self-image even staged himself as a character who in the end must inevitably be condemned.

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Some Unsystematic Considerations on Systems Theory. Or: Get out of the Rabbit Hole!

In: Weimarer Beiträge 1/2004. By Oliver Uschmann.

At the beginning of the noughties the author was a real disciple of Niklas Luhmann. In this essay he tries the thought experiment of disproving Systems Theory. After reading it, one has understood it without falling for it.

Of Supermen and Hunger Artists

In: Weimarer Beiträge 1/2003. By Oliver Uschmann.

A wild but conclusive ride through the thought models of Günther Anders, Adorno, Nietzsche, Kafka, Luhmann and Eric Berne along the question of how which great thinkers reacted to the presumptions of megamodernity.

Assoziative Hyperlinks: About the Handling of Things in Recent German Literature

In: Sinn-haft 17 - Inmitten der Dinge von Oliver Uschmann.

Like a web article with hyperlinks, pop literature is full of references to the cultural archive while writing it at the same time. The contribution shows to what extent this technique has even been used by Shakespeare and Mann.

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Paradise or Apocalypse. A Sketch of the Imaginations and Paradigms of the Scientific Religion with Special Emphasis on the Nuclear Debate in the Fifties

Seminar paper by Oliver Uschmann.

Science likes to present itself as the pure voice of reason against the dark forces of irrationality and rapturous glorification. In fact, by her visions and manifestos she herself becomes a belief system.

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The Religion of Illusion - Attempt at Mulholland Drive

Seminar paper by Oliver Uschmann.

An ecstatic application of philosophical thought patterns to David Lynch's incredible film. Quote: "The cowboy forces the director to choose one side of the difference."

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From Pair Sequence to Bio-power. A Brief Outlook on the Broad Field of Discourse Analysis

Seminar paper by Oliver Uschmann.

The idea that linguistic utterances are not only descriptions but also actions, gave rise to many schools of Discourse Analysis, from practical linguistics to Foucault's theory of power. Here you can get to know them.

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SStructure, when the World Falls into Pieces... Suggestive Strategies of Verbal War Preparation The speeches of George Bush on 20th of September 2001 and Rudolf Scharping on 12th of April 1999

Seminar paper by Oliver Uschmann.

A timelessely valid overview of the most important rhetorical tools of effective manipulation, exemplified by the speeches with which the Kosovo war and the US operations after 9/11 were justified.

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he Transformation of the Closed System Minnesang into the Open System Neidhart

Seminar paper by Oliver Uschmann.

For a long time the Minnesang only followed specific rules and purposes far away from any autonomous art. It only began with the Enlightenment, but the individualist Neidhart had already prepared the way in the 13th century.

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Commonalities and Differences in the Linguistic Philosophies of Humboldt and Chomsky

Seminar paper by Oliver Uschmann.

Humboldt's idea that language makes "infinite use of finite means" forms a root of Chomsky's later generative grammar. What united the great minds and what separated them, here in brief.

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Storrer's Model of Situation Valence

Seminar paper by Oliver Uschmann.

A compact summary of the theory, also known as dependency grammar, that every verb, like a director, assigns roles around itself, which can - or must - be filled in different ways.

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Time and Timekeepers

Diploma thesis by Sylvia Witt.

There is always more than one truth! Based on this premise and with a clear, variable and yet stringent layout and a typography adapted to the respective topics, a compendium about time and timekeepers came to life, in which contents complement, contradict or even exclude each other in order to illuminate the overall theme. The book, which was written as part of the diploma thesis, combines most of the aspects related to time and timekeepers, which are seen and evaluated very differently in European culture.
The Diploma thesis in design consisted of several parts: 1. research of the most important research results and different components of time and timekeepers. 2. writing the book text, with the premise to communicate the research results in a barrier-free language in an optimal way. 3. development and implementation of a book design that is both mediatingly effective and visually appealing, with the focus on educational book design. 4. academic stuff: creative preparatory work, analytical and conceptual groundwork, concept for Diploma thesis and of course the presentation.
Many thanks to the best speakers of all times: Hendrik Teunissen van Manen and Professor Richard Zülch at the University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf in the department of design (today PBSA).

Phonetics

Concept and Design of the New Development of the Tongue-emphasized Phonetic Transcription by Sylvia Witt.

International phonetic transcription must generally be learned like a new alphabet with significantly more elements than usual letter sequences. Although there are not so many different sounds that we use in all languages we're maybe making it harder than it should be with the current phonetic transcription. This in mind, four new developments of phonetic transcriptions were developed.
The most vivid of these new developments, the tongue-emphasized phonetic transcription, makes it possible to form the correct sounds through physical imitation of the signs. A short introduction is enough to be able to put them into practice. In addition to clarifying the expression of a foreign language, this phonetic language would make it possible to learn language without the ability of acoustic control, as well as the easier learning of reticles (= lip-reading), by which visually spoken words can be derived. Thus, this bodily function-near phonetic transcription would be a proven learning aid for people who cannot hear, but want to come into communication with people who can hear but don't know Sign Language.
The tongue-emphasized phonetic transcription is the result of a joint project under the tutor Hendrik Teunissen van Manen, in which three more abstract but equally interesting phonetic transcription concepts were developed: Gabi Kulke - The Closed- and Opened-emphasized Alphabet. Marcel Kolvenbach - The Language-Image-Transfer. Michael Wiemeyer - The Geometric Phonetic Transcription.

Taboo

Joint Investigation on the Subject of Taboo. By Sylvia Witt and others.

The question was whether something like taboos still exists in our today's enlightened society at all.
The short answer: It does.
The longer answer: Taboos change in the course of time and society, but they never seem to come out of fashion.
This study was carried out under the tutor Hendrik Teunissen van Manen in collaboration with Ruth Bäumer, Silke Bartsch, Anke Dessin, Thekla Halbach, Anja Ridder, Thomas Hagenbucher and Sebastian Niederhagen.
Taboos and the resulting prejudices and stereotypes were justified when the world was still inscrutable and it was more important to find rules than explanations to ensure survival. But despite of the explanations we can fall back on today, instant assessments, on which taboos are based, are not only persistent, but have been increasing exponentially in recent years.
The psychological mechanisms are deep within us, we can hardly consciously resist them and yet they are in constant change. What can be modified unconsciously can also be changed consciously. In contrast to the period of time in which this study took place, today people in the media and marketing industry are responsible for the ever faster change of the sayable and the unsayable. Terms that were sorted in the dirty corner 45 years ago were completely accepted 30 years ago and are even considered old-fashioned today. What has been rated left-wing radical 15 years ago and political centre 10 years ago, is labeled right-wing populist today. What seemed unthinkable three years ago, is now an accepted necessity. But not only with which stuff one is constantly confronted, modifies the way we see the world and thus also taboos, prejudices and stereotypes. Also own thoughts, empathy and imagined role reversal help to understand the world in its complexity and to question and overcome taboos and their offshoots. We may think for ourselves.
This work is part of the inspiration for the fantasy novel Das Tabu (AT), the art cycles 200 Secret Works and On the BAB, as well as the exhibition Under the Surface.