Illegitimacy and Legitimation

Though of the same genre, two comparable proverbs from a given culture can operate in two distinct communicative spheres. Using an approach called discourse ecology, I explore the intertextual dynamics, semantics, and usage of two Kazakh proverbial calls to action. I consider the meaning and cultural background for each proverb. Based on searches of social media and a Kazakh corpus of news articles, I argue that one proverb operates in mass-media whereas the other is limited to use in interpersonal conversation and online chat forums. I conclude with considerations of the contrasting roles that the two comparable proverbs play in terms of representative and frame-aligning discourse for contemporary Kazakhs.

This article aims to provide an initial account of the lively debate that developed around the concept of filiation during the late Scholastic period, particularly as regards illegitimacy. It was a debate that featured several multifaceted ideas on the issue, as well as being rich in legal and theological considerations. The jurists/theologians of the siglo de oro were well-grounded in certain basic tenets, such as the Code of Justinian, the subsequent contribution of canon law, and the word of Saint Thomas Aquinas; once they had clarified the various classes of descendants (legitimate or otherwise), they especially concentrated on rights of inheritance and on the ius alendi of natural children (naturales) and spurii. Their conclusions, however, were not always in agreement. While great jurisconsults such as Diego de Covarrubias y Leyva (1512-1577) and Luis de Molina (1535-1600) were almost completely in line with the doctrinal stance on the issue as per the communis opinio doctorum, their contemporaries were already actively rethinking the relationships between parents and children (including illegitimate children). Such forward-thinking masters included the Dominican theologian Pedro de Ledesma (1544-1616), and their aim was to have natural reason prevail over the unjust legal tradition of the past. Illegitimate filiation was a delicate and complex issue, especially when it came to the treatment of adulterine and incestuous children, who faced fierce discrimination on the part of law and society. Yet once again, late Scholasticism reaffirmed its usual capacity for producing innovative legal solutions that resulted from moral and theological reflections.

Tabuwissen ist eine problematische Sorte von Wissen. Denn von ihm soll eigentlich nicht mehr bekannt werden, als dass man es nicht zu wissen habe. Dies stellt die Vermittlung von Tabuwissen vor eine Herausforderung. Anhand einer historischen Stadtplanreihe, die schwerpunktmäßig über sexuelle Dienstleistungen in bundesdeutschen Großstädten informierte, untersucht der Beitrag, wie die Stadtpläne mit dem Tabu umgehen, das ihr Wissen betraf. Dabei fällt als ungewöhnlichstes Element die Nutzung von Comicfiguren auf. Zwar werden auch sie genretypisch für Reiseliteratur in die Vermittlung des Was, Wo, Wann und Wie der örtlichen Optionen eingespannt. Aber die Einführung des Komischen in den Prostitutionskontext Anfang der 1970er Jahre hilft vor allem, die im Tabu angelegte Spannung zu lösen, einerseits von dem vermittelten Wissen angezogen, andererseits von ihm abgestoßen zu sein. Damit verhelfen die Stadtpläne ihren an sexuellen Dienstleistungen interessierten Benutzern nicht nur zu einem Können, sondern arbeiten zur Überwindung der Tabuschranke auch und zugleich unmerklich an ihrem Wollen und Dürfen.
         
Dreßler, Arne (2021): "Das Komische als Spannungslöser: Zur Vermittlung von Tabuwissen." In: Blättel-Mink, Birgit (Hrsg.): Gesellschaft unter Spannung: Verhandlungen des 40. Kongresses der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziologie 2020, https://publikationen.soziologie.de/index.php/kongressband_2020/article/view/1417.