After a brief summary of the recent theoretical context of masculinity studies and the notion of identity, this article will analyze the construction of masculinity in a novel by one of Morocco’s most notable authors, Tahar Ben Jelloun’s L'Homme rompu. It will refer to this theoretical context in order to highlight the full weight of discursive pressures that are exerted on the individual. It will offer an in-depth analysis of masculinity and identity in the novel and, with reference to its unofficial sister-novel, Simone de Beauvoir’s La Femme rompue, will question to what extent the existentialist concepts of individual choice and subjectivity are still valid in the current theoretical climate.

Devolution has led to significant divergences between the law of Wales and the law of England. Furthermore, the question of whether a separate Welsh jurisdiction is needed is increasingly being given serious consideration. With this in mind, this article examines the issue of legal education in Wales, and considers what developments are needed in order to meet the challenges and opportunities resulting from devolution, as well as any additional developments that would be needed if a Welsh jurisdiction were to be established in the future. In so doing, the article sets out some key findings from an empirical research project carried out in Northern Ireland, which as a small jurisdiction with a devolved government within the United Kingdom, provides an instructive point of reference.

This article examines a Welsh choir’s visit to Franco’s Spain at the invitation of the Francoist organisation Educación y Descans (Education and Leisure). At first the invitation sparked a debate in the local press on the principles of travelling to a country that was at the time shunned by the international community. The choir itself came from an area which had provided volunteers for the international brigades, but which was also co-incidentally involved with the establishment of an international music festival in the name of peace and understanding. The article examines the account of the choir’s journey to Spain, and discusses how the image of the Franco regime is portrayed in that account. The article also analyses to what extent the choir’s visit was used as propaganda by Franco as his foreign policy shifted with the advent of the Cold War.

The rapidly ageing population has been identified as a major global challenge; within Wales there is a growing imbalance in the age-profiles of rural communities in particular. The demands of providing appropriate healthcare for a changing population are exacerbated by lifestyle changes associated with ageing, specifically low levels of physical activity, reduced exposure to the sun and compromised ability to synthesise vitamin D. This report focuses on two important health outcomes affected by these changes that are of increasing concern within Wales: diabetes (DM2: diabetes mellitus type 2) and falls incidence. The article critically reviews the evidence base pertaining to the relationships between physical activity, vitamin D, and both the pathogenesis of DM2 and falls incidence. Current interventions are discussed and a series of recommendations for service delivery within Wales’ rural communities are presented. We argue that there is a clear role for targeting these modifiable lifestyle factors in reducing the prevalence and severity of falls and diabetes, two growing areas of social and economic concern within Wales.

Government statistics illustrate that by 2050 there will be a shortage of meat and milk due to globalpopulationgrowth and the increaseddemand from the Far East. Ensuring food security in terms of availability and nutritionalsafety is, therefore, important for our future existence. Central to achieving milk and meat security are ruminants. Ruminants have a four chambered stomach composed of the reticulum, rumen, abomasum and omasum with microbial fermentation of forage occurring in the rumen. Rumen microbial fermentation is largely responsible for animal production, ruminant product quality and much of greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, when forage reaches the rumen, the rumen microbes degrade the plant cell wall and subsequently metabolise plant cell content, including plant amino acids and proteins which they convert into proteins that they can utilise. In order to ensure availability of milk and meat of the best possible quality (with the least greenhouse gas emissions) for the future, we must increase our understanding of the plant-microbe interactome using the principles of systems biology and 'omic' technology.

Mae'r Athro Gareth Williams yn hanesydd disglair, yn arbenigo ar ddiwylliant poblogaidd yng Nghymru yn y 19eg a'r 20fed ganrif. Mae bellach yn Athro Emeritws Prifysgol De Cymru. Yma, mewn darlith a draddododd ym Mhrifysgol Abertawe ar 17 Ebrill 2013, mae'n trafod pa ysgrifau sydd wedi dylanwadu ar ei yrfa.

This article examines the way Michael Roes redefines friendship in his novel Geschichte der Freundschaft (The History of Friendship) by usig texts by other writers and philosophers. After placing Roes’ novel in its historical and cultural context, the article compares Geschichte der Freundschaft with Tahar Ben Jelloun's novel Partir / Leaving Tangier (2006). The final section of the article then interprets Roes’ use of intertexts on the subject of male-male friendships. The focus is on Roes’ appropriation of texts by Friedrich Nietzsche and Michel Foucault, which throws light on his treatment of the novel’s central theme, friendships between men, and homosexual relationships.

This article offers a detailed examination of the relationship between the campaign to revitalise the Welsh language in the 1960s and 1970s and the coining of new words in Welsh-language popular music. It concentrates on attempts to adapt Welsh to the circumstances of the pop world during this period in particular, and examines the ideological consequences of various strategies for coining terms that were used by writers.

The Welsh Assembly Government will introduce a system of presumed consent for organ donation in 2015. According to this scheme, if adults in Wales have not expressed their opposition to the use of their organs after their death, and in the absence of opposition from their families, permission to use their organs will be presumed by the authorities. According to the present system, the onus is on the individual to register as a donor, but if this new scheme is implemented, it will be the responsibility of the individual to deregister as a donor. This essay is a legal and ethical evaluation of the proposed changes.

Drawing on a rich seam of archival material on Welsh missionary activity in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Bengal, the article addresses ways in which care of the sick became a central, if problematic, part of Christian Mission. While the building of dispensaries, clinics and hospitals provided both a platform and a social visibility to the evangelisation process, they also exposed deeper tensions around the politics of gender and the implantation of Western medical practices in a colonised society.

This article aims to draw critical attention to interesting features in the work of the Sardinian author, Grazia Deledda (1871-1936), an author who has not received sufficient critical attention. The article examines the relationship between identity, language and narrative in two of Deledda’s key novels, namely La madre (The Woman and the Priest / The Mother) and Il segreto dell'uomo solitario (The Secret of the Solitary Man). It analyses the way in which the two protagonists undergo a journey of self-understanding by facing their hopes and troubles in life. We see that while linguistic interaction is necessary for some, language itself serves as a weapon for others to control their own identity and even the identity of others.

The Edward Lhuyd Lecture is an annual presentation on various aspects of academic and contemporary life in Wales and the world. The presentations cover a wide variety of themes including geology, literature, ecology or history. The lecture is organized between the Coleg Cymaeg and the Learned Society of Wales. Note, there were no lectures in 2020 - 2022 due to Covid-19.