Since he received his Doctorate in 1994 Kodera has been teaching Early Modern and Renaissance Philosophy at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Vienna. Habilitation in 2004. Fellowships in London (Warburg Institute), Vienna (IFK) and New York (Columbia). Kodera has published on and/or is a translator of Renaissance authors such as Marsilio Ficino, Fernando de Rojas, Machiavelli, Leone Ebreo, Girolamo Cardano, Giovan Battista della Porta, and Giordano Bruno. Currently he is working on a book-length study on Della Porta in English. His main fields of interest are the history of the body and sexuality, magic and media.
Why do we play games—with and upon each other as well as ourselves? When are winners also losers,... more Why do we play games—with and upon each other as well as ourselves? When are winners also losers, and vice-versa? How and to what end do we stretch the spaces of play? What happens when players go 'out of bounds,' or when games go 'too far'? Moreover, what happens when we push the parameters of inquiry: when we play with traditional narratives of ludic culture, when we re-write the rules? An innovative volume of fifteen interdisciplinary essays at the nexus of material culture, performance studies, and game theory, Playthings in Early Modernity emphasizes the rules of the game(s) as well as the breaking of those rules. Thus, the titular 'plaything' is understood as both an object and a person, and play, in the early modern world, is treated not merely as a pastime, a leisurely pursuit, but as a pivotal part of daily life, a strategic psychosocial endeavor.
This article focuses on the use of one verse from the Biblical Songs of Songs in central passages... more This article focuses on the use of one verse from the Biblical Songs of Songs in central passages of Giordano Bruno's first published book on the art of memory. De umbris idearum [On the Shadows of Ideas] not solely aims at improving mnemonic capacities, it also envisages the preconditions and limits of cognition in Bruno's new inifitist cosmology. Taking relevant scholarly literature on the topic as a point of departure, this contribution presents De umbris in the context of Bruno's philosophy in general; it focuses on Bruno's evocation of Origen's commentary on that passage in the Song of Songs. The article analyzes in detail the reasons for Bruno's subversion of the traditional exegetic tradition that was massively influenced by Origen's spiritualized reading of the Song of Songs. Bruno's misappropriation of the Origen's commentary turns out to be a mise en abyme, a mannerist strategy of representation. It not only reflects the very method that...
ABSTRACT Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527) never wrote any subtle disquisition on esteem (stima in ... more ABSTRACT Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527) never wrote any subtle disquisition on esteem (stima in Italian). Even so, this essay suggests that esteem played an important and hitherto largely unexplored role in Machiavelli’s political thought. Proceeding from an examination of Machiavelli’s use of the noun stima and the verb stimare in their literal and figurative senses, this article discusses Machiavelli’s ideas from three different perspectives. The first section discusses ways of attracting other people’s esteem through virtuous deeds. The second section, in turning to Machiavelli’s notorious advice to princes, explores the ways in which stima may be generated by merely pretending to be virtuous. I argue that Machiavelli’s new prince exchanges the real esteem he must elicit from his subjects (if he wishes to stay in power) with a surrogate: in other words, a psychological economy of stima. It arrests, through a performative spectacle, the rational faculties of the prince’s subjects. The third section investigates Machiavelli’s ideas on esteem in relation to his own person. Even though Machiavelli never uses the phrase stima di se stesso (which would be a literal translation of self-esteem), some passages from his correspondence are highly pertinent to this topic.
Giovan Battista della Porta (1535-1615) was one of Europe's main proponents of a decidedly non-ac... more Giovan Battista della Porta (1535-1615) was one of Europe's main proponents of a decidedly non-academic, yet erudite natural magic in the context of Italian Naturalist philosophy. 1 His works in this field, which also encompasses the arts of physiognomy, ciphers, distillation, and optics (to name but a few) ranked him amongst the most famous and popular writers and scientists of his day. Even though from early on his work was severely hampered by the close surveillance of the Roman Inquisition, this Neapolitan nobleman had sufficient means and social standing that allowed him to continue his works and stay in the Regno for most of his life. 2 One of Porta's lifelong concerns was the description and production of extraordinary experiments that would testify to his amazing abilities as a natural magician. Porta not only divulged traditional recipe books, classical literature, and secrets of the trades, but also his own experiments. 3 Yet he was not only one of the most renowned "professors of secrets" of his time, 4 but also authored at least seventeen successful works for the theater, some of them important mannerist plays. 5 In their Wonders and the Order of Nature, Lorraine Daston and Katherine Park have outlined Della Porta's deep interest in the marvelous and his concern with demonic arts. 6 Like * I wish to thank the editors, Rossella Carbotti and John Marino, as well as one anonymous reviewer for their many invaluable suggestions and all their efforts to improve this text. Unless otherwise indicated, translations are my own. 1 For a succinct introduction to the intellectual background and Della Porta's forerunners, see Brian P. Copenhaver, "The occultist tradition and its critics" in
0 0 1 364 2077 radim.hladik@gmail.com 17 4 2437 14.0 96 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NON... more 0 0 1 364 2077 radim.hladik@gmail.com 17 4 2437 14.0 96 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} Shadows over Shulamith: Giordano Bruno's De umbris idearum (1582) and the Song of Songs Abstrakt: This article focuses on the use of one verse from the Biblical Songs of Songs (2. 3) in central passages of Giordano Bruno's first published book on the art of memory. De umbris idearum [On the Shadows of Ideas] not solely aims at improving mnemonic capacities, it also envisages the preconditions and limits of cognition in Bruno's new inifitist cosmology. Taking relevant scholarly literatu...
Why do we play games—with and upon each other as well as ourselves? When are winners also losers,... more Why do we play games—with and upon each other as well as ourselves? When are winners also losers, and vice-versa? How and to what end do we stretch the spaces of play? What happens when players go 'out of bounds,' or when games go 'too far'? Moreover, what happens when we push the parameters of inquiry: when we play with traditional narratives of ludic culture, when we re-write the rules? An innovative volume of fifteen interdisciplinary essays at the nexus of material culture, performance studies, and game theory, Playthings in Early Modernity emphasizes the rules of the game(s) as well as the breaking of those rules. Thus, the titular 'plaything' is understood as both an object and a person, and play, in the early modern world, is treated not merely as a pastime, a leisurely pursuit, but as a pivotal part of daily life, a strategic psychosocial endeavor.
This article focuses on the use of one verse from the Biblical Songs of Songs in central passages... more This article focuses on the use of one verse from the Biblical Songs of Songs in central passages of Giordano Bruno's first published book on the art of memory. De umbris idearum [On the Shadows of Ideas] not solely aims at improving mnemonic capacities, it also envisages the preconditions and limits of cognition in Bruno's new inifitist cosmology. Taking relevant scholarly literature on the topic as a point of departure, this contribution presents De umbris in the context of Bruno's philosophy in general; it focuses on Bruno's evocation of Origen's commentary on that passage in the Song of Songs. The article analyzes in detail the reasons for Bruno's subversion of the traditional exegetic tradition that was massively influenced by Origen's spiritualized reading of the Song of Songs. Bruno's misappropriation of the Origen's commentary turns out to be a mise en abyme, a mannerist strategy of representation. It not only reflects the very method that...
ABSTRACT Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527) never wrote any subtle disquisition on esteem (stima in ... more ABSTRACT Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527) never wrote any subtle disquisition on esteem (stima in Italian). Even so, this essay suggests that esteem played an important and hitherto largely unexplored role in Machiavelli’s political thought. Proceeding from an examination of Machiavelli’s use of the noun stima and the verb stimare in their literal and figurative senses, this article discusses Machiavelli’s ideas from three different perspectives. The first section discusses ways of attracting other people’s esteem through virtuous deeds. The second section, in turning to Machiavelli’s notorious advice to princes, explores the ways in which stima may be generated by merely pretending to be virtuous. I argue that Machiavelli’s new prince exchanges the real esteem he must elicit from his subjects (if he wishes to stay in power) with a surrogate: in other words, a psychological economy of stima. It arrests, through a performative spectacle, the rational faculties of the prince’s subjects. The third section investigates Machiavelli’s ideas on esteem in relation to his own person. Even though Machiavelli never uses the phrase stima di se stesso (which would be a literal translation of self-esteem), some passages from his correspondence are highly pertinent to this topic.
Giovan Battista della Porta (1535-1615) was one of Europe's main proponents of a decidedly non-ac... more Giovan Battista della Porta (1535-1615) was one of Europe's main proponents of a decidedly non-academic, yet erudite natural magic in the context of Italian Naturalist philosophy. 1 His works in this field, which also encompasses the arts of physiognomy, ciphers, distillation, and optics (to name but a few) ranked him amongst the most famous and popular writers and scientists of his day. Even though from early on his work was severely hampered by the close surveillance of the Roman Inquisition, this Neapolitan nobleman had sufficient means and social standing that allowed him to continue his works and stay in the Regno for most of his life. 2 One of Porta's lifelong concerns was the description and production of extraordinary experiments that would testify to his amazing abilities as a natural magician. Porta not only divulged traditional recipe books, classical literature, and secrets of the trades, but also his own experiments. 3 Yet he was not only one of the most renowned "professors of secrets" of his time, 4 but also authored at least seventeen successful works for the theater, some of them important mannerist plays. 5 In their Wonders and the Order of Nature, Lorraine Daston and Katherine Park have outlined Della Porta's deep interest in the marvelous and his concern with demonic arts. 6 Like * I wish to thank the editors, Rossella Carbotti and John Marino, as well as one anonymous reviewer for their many invaluable suggestions and all their efforts to improve this text. Unless otherwise indicated, translations are my own. 1 For a succinct introduction to the intellectual background and Della Porta's forerunners, see Brian P. Copenhaver, "The occultist tradition and its critics" in
0 0 1 364 2077 radim.hladik@gmail.com 17 4 2437 14.0 96 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NON... more 0 0 1 364 2077 radim.hladik@gmail.com 17 4 2437 14.0 96 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} Shadows over Shulamith: Giordano Bruno's De umbris idearum (1582) and the Song of Songs Abstrakt: This article focuses on the use of one verse from the Biblical Songs of Songs (2. 3) in central passages of Giordano Bruno's first published book on the art of memory. De umbris idearum [On the Shadows of Ideas] not solely aims at improving mnemonic capacities, it also envisages the preconditions and limits of cognition in Bruno's new inifitist cosmology. Taking relevant scholarly literatu...
An innovative volume of fifteen interdisciplinary essays at the nexus of material culture, perfor... more An innovative volume of fifteen interdisciplinary essays at the nexus of material culture, performance studies, and game theory, Playthings in Early Modernity emphasizes the rules of the game(s) as well as the breaking of those rules. Thus, the titular "plaything" is understood as both an object and a person, and play, in the early modern world, is treated not merely as a pastime, a leisurely pursuit, but as a pivotal part of daily life, a strategic psychosocial endeavor.
Why do we play games—with and upon each other as well as ourselves? When are winners also losers,... more Why do we play games—with and upon each other as well as ourselves? When are winners also losers, and vice-versa? How and to what end do we stretch the spaces of play? What happens when players go ‘out of bounds,’ or when games go ‘too far’? Moreover, what happens when we push the parameters of inquiry: when we play with traditional narratives of ludic culture, when we re-write the rules?
An innovative volume of fifteen interdisciplinary essays at the nexus of material culture, performance studies, and game theory, Playthings in Early Modernity emphasizes the rules of the game(s) as well as the breaking of those rules. Thus, the titular ‘plaything’ is understood as both an object and a person, and play, in the early modern world, is treated not merely as a pastime, a leisurely pursuit, but as a pivotal part of daily life, a strategic psychosocial endeavor.
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Papers by Sergius Kodera
The collection is the inaugural volume in the book series Ludic Cultures, 1100-1700. More information about the series can be found at https://mip-archumanitiespress.org/series/mip/ludic-cultures/.
An innovative volume of fifteen interdisciplinary essays at the nexus of material culture, performance studies, and game theory, Playthings in Early Modernity emphasizes the rules of the game(s) as well as the breaking of those rules. Thus, the titular ‘plaything’ is understood as both an object and a person, and play, in the early modern world, is treated not merely as a pastime, a leisurely pursuit, but as a pivotal part of daily life, a strategic psychosocial endeavor.
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