Who's Afraid of the Bad Little Fowl?

The question this article addresses is: Is “Artemis” art? That is, how successful is Eoin Colfer's attempt to combine disparate forms, such as fairy stories, science fiction stories and thrillers in the three “Artemis Fowl” novels? Basic elements of story, such as narrative stance, characterisation and plot, as well as some particularly contemporary issues relating to political correctness, are examined in the search for an answer to that question.     

On communication among “unequals”

This analysis was stimulated by the problem in international development of communication between development personnel and members of the populations with whom they work. Building on the work of Bateson and the Ardeners, I propose a theoretical framework that incorporates the “inarticulateness of women” (as discussed by Ardener) and a similar phenomenon I have observed in situations of contact between people of unequal status, in general. Three ethnographic examples of the dynamics of communication between “unequals”¹ and the resulting “inarticulateness” are then provided: one between rural and urban dwellers in Iran: one between women and men from two subcultures in rural America; and one among male and female scientists from different countries and different scientific paradigms. I conclude with a set of policy recommendations, that follow from the proposed theory.