OAPEN Library

Buildings on Standby

2026-04-17T01:23:28Z

Buildings on Standby Alpermann, Hendrikje | https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7673-5339

Buildings on Standby describes the vacant high-rise buildings A–E in Halle-Neustadt as places of uncertain future, where the possibilities/impossibilities of urban planning after socialism are being negotiated. For more than 20 years, four of the five tower blocks have been vacant and remain on standby – in a state of future-oriented availability and a contested space between shutdown and reactivation. At the interface of actor-network theory and ethnographic urban research, the study examines this state in its temporal, material and political dimensions. It shows that buildings on standby cost a lot of energy, harbour risks and become a bargaining chip for trust and responsibility. The book opens up new perspectives on shrinking cities, interstitial spaces and urban transformation – in and beyond the post-socialist space.

The text is accompanied by numerous architectural illustrations and a photo essay by Eiko Grimberg.

Passivisation in Semitic, Iranian, Armenian, and Beyond

2026-04-17T01:23:23Z

Passivisation in Semitic, Iranian, Armenian, and Beyond Noorlander, Paul M. | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9407-1453; Asadpour, Hiwa | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7074-2435

This volume brings together research on passive voice constructions in low-resource languages of Western Asia, a region marked by extraordinary linguistic diversity as well as a long history of cultural suppression and marginalisation. The contributions showcase the passive voice in Semitic, Iranian, Armenian, Greek, and Turkic languages, many of which are endangered, understudied, or confined to diaspora communities and disappearing language islands. Education and cultural expression in these languages remained heavily restricted across parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, underscoring the urgent need for documentation and revitalisation.

The chapters explore the rich typological variation of passive voice constructions, examining their typological traits, synchronic microvariation and diachronic developments. Drawing on Siewierska’s definition, the studies investigate processes of agent demotion and patient promotion, reductions in transitivity, and the fuzzy boundaries between passive and other detransitivisation strategies such as middles, anticausatives, statives and light verbs as well as impersonal subjects and agent omission. They also shed light on the impact of text genre, verbal aspect, and language contact on passivisation.

By integrating theoretical, typological, historical, and areal perspectives, the volume discusses the internal stability of detransitivisation strategies, their evolution from earlier source constructions, and their position in voice systems more broadly. It raises fundamental questions about whether cross-linguistic tendencies in passives reflect universal patterns or area-specific historical contingencies.

This collection thus provides an essential resource for scholars of all theoretical persuasions that are interested in voice and valency and/or in Western Asia’s linguistic diversity, while foregrounding the pressing need to support communities whose linguistic heritage is at risk.

Buildings on Standby

2026-04-17T01:23:18Z

Buildings on Standby Alpermann, Hendrikje | 0009-0006-7673-5339

The text is accompanied by numerous architectural illustrations and a photo essay by Eiko Grimberg.

Ethnic Relations in the Baltic Reconsidered

2026-04-17T01:23:13Z

Ethnic Relations in the Baltic Reconsidered Woodworth, Bradley D.; Davoliute, Violeta; Staliunas, Darius This collected volume offers an original perspective on the Baltic region by examining the intricate relationships between its diverse ethnic groups from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Rather than focusing solely on national narratives or comparisons of historical development, the book analyzes ethnic relations through the lenses of identity, governance, empire, and violence. The nearly constant redrawing of geographic borders and boundaries among communities during this period destabilized fixed identities, generating novel, hybrid ways of self-identification along with a hardening of oppositions. Innovative forms of coexistence came with violent, sometimes genocidal conflicts. The contributors explore topics such as evolving senses of belonging, the impact of imperial and Soviet rule, instances of cooperation and conflict, and the legacies of historical trauma. By incorporating new sources and interdisciplinary approaches, they update traditional understandings of nations and nationalism in the Baltic region and provide insights relevant to similar regions.