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cathexis

The formation of a libidinal investment. The attachment of oneself to a particular external element or a particular alignment of discourse, a role, etc. through the rearticulation of psychological desires/drives which are already present.

The verb for is "to cathect".
His frustration with his father was repressed, but re-emerged through a cathexis in relation to his boss.
by Andy May 7, 2004
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power/knowledge

Concept used in the work of Michel Foucault, to denote the interchangeability and mutual supportiveness of power and knowledge. Because he thought a regime of power always constructs forms of knowledge and a regime of knowledge always institutes a regime of power, he fused the two words into a single concept.

For example, prisons are an example of a regime of power/knowledge: the observation of prisoners and the recording of different categories of criminality are in many ways identical with the process of incarceration itself, as a system of control of people's bodies and of physical spaces.
Mental asylums, schools, armies, etc. are all different examples of regimes of power/knowledge. The way in which people are recorded as elements in these discourses is connected to their subordination to or complicity in particular relations of power.
by Andy May 7, 2004
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catharsis

The release of pent-up or repressed energies through their attachment to a new object or situation and their resultant release. For instance, the vicarious satisfaction of a desire to commit violence due to frustration with one's boss, through something other than violence against one's boss, e.g. through watching violent films, doing karate as a hobby, fighting a rival gang, playing Doom, etc.
It's a concept taken from Freudian psychoanalysis.

It also has a peculiar meaning in Gramscian theory, where it refers to the rearticulation and reconfiguration of desires and passions into a new ideological/philosophical framework - roughly speaking, the achievement of a new, revolutionary formation of desire.
by Andy May 9, 2004
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libidinal investment

An attachment of strong, intense emotional energies to an issue, person, concept, etc., in such a way that one pays special attention to issues surrounding it and one reacts strongly to discussions and changes affecting it. Includes, but is not limited to, sexual and sublimated sexual attachments.

The term is psychoanalytic in origin and is widely used in cultural studies.
Right-wingers often have a strong libidinal investment in the idea of authority, so that they experience threats to authority almost as if they are threatened personally. This may be due to an Oedipal fixation in which their sense of personal identity fuses with that of the father, as threatening authority-figure, so as to enable the repression of castration-threat anxiety.
by Andy May 9, 2004
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jakhsa

In World of Lone Wolf 3: Beyond the Nightmare Gate, a jakhsa is an evil spirit which can adopt the physical appearance of its victim. It tries to kill its target, but with a twist: killing the jakhsa kills its victim, and vice-versa.
The jakhsa follows Grey Star under the command of Shasarak.
by Andy May 9, 2004
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Drakkar

Singular of Drakkarim. A human or humanoid warrior in the service of the Darklords, in the Lone Wolf series.
The Drakkar leapt from the saddle as the kraan swooped over the building.
by Andy May 10, 2004
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Drakkarim

Singular Drakkar. A human or humanoid people in the Lone Wolf world, who live in a number of kingdoms in western Magnamund such as Nyras, Nyvoz and Ghatan. They are warlike and are aligned to and ruled by the Darklords; as a result, they often appear in the Darklord armies as far afield as Sommerlund and Anari.

Drakkarim warriors wear heavy armour and grated helmets which mask their faces. They wield heavy weapons such as maces and axes, and are more powerful and intelligent than Giaks. Thus, they are often used for special operations such as siege warfare and as a vanguard. A special unit, the Death Knights, are especially feared.
Lone Wolf stood to face the three Drakkarim warriors as they charged through the breach in the wall.
by Andy May 10, 2004
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