The Herculaneum Conservation Project: Introduction

Abstract

This short text places the archaeological site of Herculaneum, Italy and the Herculaneum Conservation Project in context, and introduces the volume of articles on this subject. The author outlines the importance of the site, and the public/private partnership that was launched in order to tackle the problems of decay there.     

Introduction: The Incident at Lathrop Station

Last year the Journal of Supreme Court History published the first part of Justice Stephen J. Field's memoir, Personal Reminiscences of Early Days in California , with a promise to reprint the second half at a later time. ¹ This is the second installment. It is not technically part of the memoir at all. Rather, it is the story of one particular incident: the events that led to the shooting and death of Field's former colleague on the Supreme Court of California, David S. Terry. As you will soon see, the story involves powerful personalities, incredible wealth, sex, violence, and greed. These themes are not unusual in legal history. What is unusual in the story that follows, however, is that judges are the principal players.     

Introduction: The International Politics of Resources

Abstract

China, Japan and Korea’s international relations are shaped by the fact that all three are significant importers of resources. This Introduction proposes two conceptual frameworks for understanding the politics that is taken up in the papers of this Special Issue. The first is to consider the extent to which there is an East Asian model of resource procurement. We find that there are some similarities in the approaches taken by all three countries; for example, their development assistance shares a focus on infrastructure building and a reticence to purposefully influence domestic politics. There are, however, also significant differences due in large part to the individual nature of the states as international actors. The second conceptual framework is the broad contemporary theme of the end of Western dominance of the world order. The main way this affects the international politics of resources in Northeast Asia is through the belief that the activities of those countries are threatening in some way. In some cases Northeast Asian approaches to resources are seen as a problem because they are not sufficiently liberal, whereas in others the problem is that Northeast Asian powers are seen as replacing Western powers in exploiting resource-rich developing countries.     

The Media and American Institutions: Introduction

Abstract

A striking feature of contemporary Christianity is the new consensus that has emerged about politics. Almost all churches and theologians now believe that the form of government most compatible with the Christian religion is democracy. Of course, an important difference still exists between Christians who support liberal democracy and those who cling to hopes for some kind of Marxist rule. But even this difference implies that the only serious debate is not whether democracy should be preferred to monarchy or to theocracy, but which kind of democracy is best—a democracy based on human rights (liberal democracy) or a democracy based on a more radical notion of human liberation (socialist democracy). For contemporary Christians, it seems obvious that the Gospel message of care for the poor and universal love implies democratic institutions.     

The Archaeology of Missions in Australasia: Introduction

Missions have long been recognized as spaces of colonial contact and cultural exchange, and they are significant places in Indigenous landscapes today. However, archaeologists have only recently begun to explore such places across Australasia. This collection canvasses a range of approaches to this dynamic field.