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The chapter contains an analysis of the ecotopian motifs in the narratives of N. Farmer (the Matteo Alacrán novels, 2002; 2013), S. Collins (“The Hunger Games” cycle, 2008-2010) and M. Lu (the “Legend” cycle, 2011-2013), which belong to the contemporary dystopian literature for young adults. The basic device looked into is personification, working along the traditional, intuitive connection between pristine Nature and a small child. The authors depart from the typical anthropocentric picture of children’s literature, and tend to orient themselves towards the posthuman and the extended self, endorsing the inclusive worldview. The classification used in the study—Nature-endorsing and Nature-skeptical narratives—reposes on the landmark publications of Noga Applebaum (2009) and Zoe Jaques (2015), and is supplemented with references to broadly understood ecocriticism. The first part of the chapter discusses the relation between Farmer’s novels—as the closest to Callenbach’s “Ecotopia”—to the Gaia hypothesis. The second part concentrates on the transformation of the Eden motif in Lu’s cycle, and the third part investigates the interplay between the Medean Katniss and the “ecotopian” Prim in Collins’s books. The analysis confirms the destabilization of anthropocentrism in the juvenile fiction and its posthumanist slant, as well as the gradual decline of the romanticized vision of Nature and technophobic narratives. The myth of healing, regenerative Nature is shown as outdated and even harmful. Although most of the personifications discussed in the chapter fall into the Nature-endorsing attitude, which subjects Nature to human beings, the authors lay bare the manipulative aspect of such devices as an element of social engineering, which burdens citizens with the fight for what is already lost. Instead of the classic Eden, the writers construct technological paradise, which sustains ecotopian dreams only in the form of simulations or hybrid forms, connecting human, Nature and machine.
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In “The Present As Barbaricum. Cognitive Estrangement and Historical Time in »Star Trek«” Agnieszka Urbańczyk examines the critical potential of conceptualization of time in “Star Trek: The Original Series”. The aforementioned production is treated here as a symptom of the 1960’s social change or as a one of its catalysts. The franchise’s creators use a strategy which a decade later Darko Suvin would call ‘cognitive estrangement’. As Suvin points out, the science fiction genre makes it possible for known elements of recipient’s empirical reality to stand out and, thus, become a subject of critical reflection. One of the key factors in establishing cognitive estrangement is conceptualization of the created fictional world as subjected to history and time-flow so that specific norms may be perceived as contextual and not absolute. “Star Trek” is shown as balancing two strategies of establishing the future: an apocalyptic extrapolation—which is supposed to be a warning—and cognitive estrangement. In many ways the series was extremely subversive for its time, advocating tolerance and a world without racism or xenophobia. Its political message is conveyed mostly through its perception of time. The twenty-third century is not a foreseeable future (extrapolation), but, rather, an exotic place where the world is radically different from the actual one (at the time of the series’ creation). The characters look back at the Earth’s history to find it unsatisfactory and with aid of their displaced perspective so may do the audience.
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Celebrating the anniversaries is a good opportunity to address again with gratitude the founders of the University of Economics - Varna and the Department of Economics and Management of Trade who have realized the fundamental role of commerce for the development of the economy and society as a whole. The report follows the history of education and science at the University of Economics - Varna, the creation and development of the Economics and Trade university course and the Department of Economics and Management of Trade, focusing on the educational and scientific results of the last five years. In the light of the new information and communication technologies, the electronisation and digitization of trade processes the challenges facing commerce education and science have highlighted.
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Continuous improvement of information and communication technology drives a rapid development of new digital tools to attract consumer’s attention. Contemporary consumers spend more and more of their time online, therefore digital marketing means are becoming particularly suitable for building long-term customer relationships. The use of various digital communication instruments connects consumers with the brand through a creation of distinctive experiences. This article presents digital marketing trends in retail, paying especially attention on artificial intelligence in customer communications, provision of valuable visual information with content marketing, use of social networks and influencer marketing for making a purchase decision.
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