OBJECTIVE: The feet of professional dancers are exposed to high work-related stresses. To date, data from the professional dance sector concerning this matter are lacking. The aim of this exploratory project was to analyze and evaluate skin health in the foot area with regard to the prevalence of dermatoses, their locations, as well as gender-specific and load-specific differences. METHODS: Professional classical and neo-classical ballet dancers were examined at two time points: in a phase with increased stress (T0: daily training sessions, rehearsals, and high performance frequency) (n=51, 35 females, 16 males) and after a 24-day rest phase (T1: n=35, 28 females, 7 males). In addition, gender-specific and load-specific (T0 and T1) differences were evaluated. RESULTS: All professional dancers were affected by skin lesions of the feet at T0. Hyperkeratosis (96.1%), onychomycosis (27.5%), and subungual hematoma (11.8%) were the most frequent dermatoses of the feet of professional dancers. Onychomycosis affected the nails of the big toes in particular (right 15.7%; left 13.7%), and subungual hematomas were found exclusively on the nails of the first toe (right 7.8%; left 7.8%). Women tended to be more frequently affected by hyperkeratosis, men more frequently by onychomycosis. There were no load-specific differences between the stress and rest phases. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of work-related dermatoses is equally high among female and male dancers. The results can be used for further research and serve as a basis for specific measures of behavioral and environmental prevention in dance.

The high work-related loads on the skin of dancers is the result of numerous factors. While initial studies have looked at the consequences of exposure, information on skin condition is still completely lacking. This study includes for the first time an analysis of the skin as well as the relevant skin care behaviour. Methods: A total of n = 35 professional dancers (PT) underwent skin analysis (transepidermal water loss, TEWL; moisture content and oil level) as part of a dermatological examination. This was done at different work load periods (phase of increased demands and resting phases, T1 and T0, respectively). Results: Acne (17.1%), herpes labialis (8.6%), and allergic rhinitis (14.3%) were among the most common pre-existing conditions. Low moisture contents and oil levels of the skin were found in selected localizations. TEWL index values were normal. There were no significant differences in measured values between T0 and T1. Subjects with skin lesions at rest showered significantly more often than their unaffected counterparts. Inflammation was particularly frequent after hair removal, especially in the intimate area (40.6%). Conclusions: Occupational exposures appear to be reflected in the results. However, studies with larger groups are needed to verify these results.

Up to the present, there has been a lack of studies on the skin health of professional and recreational dancers. Dancers are at risk of skin diseases due to contact with allergenic or irritating substances and working in humid environments. The aim of the present study was, therefore, to examine skin health in two different dance styles and training periods. Methods: Physical dermatological examination of professional dancers (PD; n = 35) and Latin American formation dancers (LD; n = 79) after a 4-week period of recovery (T0) and a period of high training or work load (T1). Results: PD are significantly more frequently affected by skin dermatoses than LD (T0, p = 0.004) (frontal traction alopecia, hair loss, facial seborrhoea, xerosis cutis of the trunk and extremities, and facial folliculitis). The following significant differences between the sexes were observed in the LD: more folliculitis of the trunk in male subjects (T0 and T1, p = 0.009), more frequent xerosis cutis of the extremities (p < 0.001) and perioral dermatitis in female subjects (T1, p = 0.043). Subjects with skin lesions trained more frequently, performed more times per year, and had longer dance experience. Discussion: Based on the findings, preventive measures for skin protection (especially informing dancers about skin health) are necessary. At the same time, further studies on this topic are important.

This chapter offers an introductory reading to the growing field of interdisciplinary Latin American Studies on the intellectual history of the Global South as seen in the case of a concrete South-South knowledge transfer and encounter between India and Mexico in the decade of 1920. The historical figure of Indian revolutionary and agronomist Pandurang Khankhoje (1884–1967), who arrived as a political exile in postrevolutionary Mexico in 1924, and soon became a key figure in the development of the National Schools of Agriculture in the context of Mexico’s project of modernizing agriculture and agricultural techniques, expands, reframes, and rewrites part of the history of the agricultural sciences in Mexico, as well as it amplifies the South-South connections that shaped the transnational and global community of Left intellectuals in Mexico during that time. Khankhoje’s commitment to revolutionary ideals and a socially just agricultural reform via scientific knowledge taught and shared from below show the complex political and scientific articulations inherent to a South-South history of knowledge transfer.

This article analyzes Cantos de las guerras preventivas by Costa-Rican author Fernando Contreras Castro, from the point of view of speculative fiction, and recent debates on the Anthropocene, and the question about de the future after the end. It emphasizes particularly on the role of literature in the context of this epistemological turn in the humanities and social sciences.

El artículo propone una primera aproximación crítica a la novela Roza tumba quema (2017) de la salvadoreña Claudia Hernández. A partir de una serie de estrategias narrativas se muestra y analiza cómo, desde la ficción, las relaciones dinámicas entre guerra y escritura son interpeladas para colocarlas en una nueva relacionalidad.

ResumenEl artículo plantea una serie de precisiones metodológicas necesarias para comprender el fenómeno intelectual, cultural y literario de los orientalismos en las primeras décadas del siglo XX en el marco de las lógicas y dinámicas de funcionamiento de la ciudad letrada latinoamericana. La revisión crítica de la noción de Ángel Rama y su aplicación desde el concepto Sur/South (según Klengel/Ortiz Wallner) para la concepción de una historia intelectual y cultural transareal permite a la autora desarrollar y proponer el uso del concepto ampliado de “ciudad letrada heterodoxa”.

Este artículo analiza la colección de cuentos De fronteras de la salvadoreña Claudia Hernández en su contexto de escritura y publicación, así como a partir del lenguaje estético propuesto por la práctica escritural de Hernández. Se centra en las posibilidades que ofrece el modelo narrativo de la concisión y brevedad, a la vez que explora cómo el fenómeno de la violencia en la literatura puede asumir una posición central al interno de la lógica de una escritura.

La periodización, como categoría instrumental, es una noción operativa que es introducida tardíamente en los estudios literarios latinoamericanos. Este trabajo analiza y revisita la periodización literaria en cuanto a las narrativas de posguerra en el ámbito de América Central.