Interrogating the early history of the Arabic novel, this chapter challenges Eurocentric and nationalist narratives that have long defined the genre through the lens of European realism and national authenticity. It critiques the exclusion of nineteenth-century Arabic works – many of which were serialized, translated, or formally hybrid – from the canon, despite their self-identification as novels. Focusing on Khalil al-Khouri’s Wayy, Idhan Lastu bi-Ifranji (1859), the chapter explores how early Arabic novels emerged through practices of translation, adaptation, and circulation, often blending Indigenous narrative forms with European influences. Rather than viewing these texts as imperfect imitations, the chapter argues for understanding the Arabic novel as a genre formed in and through translation. It ultimately offers a broader, more inclusive literary historiography that accounts for the novel’s translingual, transregional, and intertextual development within the context of the Nahda.

Chapter 10 looks at Jorge Amado’s large body of work, dividing his novels into three main stages. These stages build on each other, adding new themes and styles that broaden Amado’s creative reach. The release of Gabriela, cravo e canela in 1958 is a key moment in this development. While staying true to his political beliefs, Amado’s ideas grew into a form of social humanism that mixed local culture, storytelling traditions, comic characters, strong women, and an open look at sexuality. Amado’s focus on sexuality highlights a major theme: the blending of races as a lively force that enriches culture, promotes acceptance, and pushes back against racism and xenophobia. In Amado’s third stage, Brazil goes beyond itself to symbolize the spirit of the Americas, reflecting the idea of e pluribus unum. The chapter ends by considering how Amado was received in the United States, calling it a “rollercoaster ride” shaped by both fair and unfair reasons.

In this chapter, we will add a binary relation of identity, =, to the language L∀. We will then develop the models for identity in the Mares–Goldblatt framework. As we will see, there are some hurdles to modeling identity while also holding on to basic relevant intuitions and insights.

This chapter re-examines the concept of Maghrib literature, moving beyond the reductive binary that equates it solely with Francophone output. It underscores the Maghrib’s diverse heritage – Berber, Arab, African, Ottoman, and European – and its rich multilingual literary traditions through historical, linguistic, and literary analysis. Béchir Khraïef’s novel Barg Ellil (Barq al-Layl) (1960) serves as a central example, showcasing a creolized poetics rooted in Tunisia’s deep historical and regional connections. The novel embodies Édouard Glissant’s “poetics of relation” through its multilingualism, hybrid characters, and themes of displacement and resistance. The chapter critiques the marginalization of Arabic-language literature in favor of French-language texts, advocating for a comparative, inclusive approach that acknowledges the Maghrib’s linguistic and cultural complexity. Ultimately, it argues that Maghrib literature is defined not just by language or geography, but by its capacity to reflect and reimagine the region’s layered identities.

This chapter argues that women played significant and varied roles in the church of the Byzantine Empire. I examine the roles of women in four categories: women at church; female saints, martyrs and monastics; Empresses; and hymnographers. In the early Byzantine period, two ecclesial positions were set aside for women: deaconess and widow. Their responsibilities included some limited liturgical involvement, prayer for the church and training of other women in the faith. Throughout the life of the Empire, there were also significant and different female models of faith and piety. In discussing ‘holy’ women, I briefly explore the cult of female saints and the reality of celibate and monastic lives for women in the period, before then turning to Empresses and their varied roles as mothers of the faith, models of virginity and protectors of icons. Finally, this chapter introduces Kassia, the ninth-century abbess and hymnographer, as an example of female hymn-writers of Byzantium.

Recognized as the preeminent figure in Brazilian literature, Chapter 7 examines Machado de Assis through the lenses of five key concepts: Modernism, skepticism, satire, digression, and the “instinct of nationality.” The chapter explores how Machado’s fiction employs these elements as artistic resources and narrative techniques. Modernism is primarily characterized by intertextuality, while Machado’s skepticism is intimately tied to his satirical mode, both of which interpret history as an ongoing cycle of repetition. This cyclical nature of history parallels the sinuosity inherent in his use of digression. Collectively, these dimensions coalesce to articulate Machado’s vision of Brazil, which is embodied in his major works through representations of the Brazilian elite and their paradoxical dynamic of embracing modernity while simultaneously undermining it.

This article explores the theoretical and functional use of the term ‘schism’ in Eastern Christianity from its earliest use in the New Testament through the thirteenth century. While influential theological authorities such as Irenaeus of Lyon and Basil of Caesarea developed precise, technical definitions for what constituted a schism, the rhetorical excesses of ecclesiastical adversaries often deliberately blurred the distinction between schism and heresy. The article pays particular attention to lesser-known events, such as the Acacian Schism and the inner-Byzantine Schism of the thirteenth century, as well as the more well-known schisms such as the Photian Schism of the ninth century and the permanent break between Rome and Constantinople in 1054. The article concludes with an examination of what was and what was not severed between Christian communities in times in schism.

The propositional languages of Part I that we have looked at have contained a fairly standard set of connectives, {t, ¬, →, ◦, ∧, ∨}. One can reasonably view these as the basic connectives for relevant logics. The modal logics add various modal operators to the basic language. There are other connectives that are considered for non-modal logics.