Mormon History,Text, Colour,and Rites

Mormonism's growth from its 1830 inception to its 2005 near twelve million world membership, has not only initiated a debate over whether, perhaps, it is likely to become the next world‐religion after Islam, ¹ 1 Stark, Rodney , “The Rise of a New World Faith,” Review of Religious Research 26 (1984 ): 18 – 27 .
but has, in recent decades, also witnessed the publication of numerous books that help foster an interest in what is already becoming a distinctive field of study. Though none of the four books reviewed here constitutes an introductory overview, ² 2 For which see, Thomas O'Dea, The Mormons (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957); Jan Shipps, The Story of a New Religious Tradition (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1985); Douglas J. Davies, Introduction to Mormonism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003).
each introduces a set of major issues within contemporary Mormon studies and engages, respectively, with faith‐related attitudes to historical material, the Book of Mormon, the changing status of black males in the church, and Freemasonry's impact on Mormonism's origin.     

现代口述史的产生及相关几个概念的辨析

口述历史是针对文献证史而言的,产生于20世纪中期。它以录音为依据,是口述者与史学工作者合作的成果,所以既不同于传统的口述方法,也不同于回忆录。口述史学在学科层次上与史料学大体相当,从属于历史学。     

Local Colour: Megalithic Architecture and Colour Symbolism in Neolithic Arran

Recent approaches to megalithic architecture have emphasised the importance of considering monuments in relation to the experience of place. Such approaches have taken two forms: emphasizing the relationship between experience and the internal architecture of the monument, or the nature of the experience evoked by the presence of the monument within the landscape. This paper argues that the importance of stone colour in relation to the construction of megalithic monuments contributes to an understanding of place and landscape as well as providing evidence of the symbolic and aesthetic aspects of colour in the past.     

The Offham Chalkpit Tramway: its History and Archaeology

Abstract

Chalk was in considerable demand for agricultural use in the early years of the nineteenth century, and an inclined plane, including a tunnelled section, was built in 1809 to connect the chalkpits at Offham with the newly canalised River Ouse. Tom Evans has examined the Shiffner correspondence to investigate the sources of the iron plateway supplied to the Offham scheme, and Ron Martin, together with other members of the Sussex Industrial Archaeology Society, has surveyed the field evidence for this interesting industrial survival in rural Sussex.     

Subaltern Studies and its Critics: Debates over Indian History

Ranajit Guha, (ed.) A Subaltern Studies Reader 1986–1995
Peter Heehsm, Nationalism, Terrorism, Communalism: Essays in Modern Indian History
Sumit Sarkar, Writing Social History
Achin Vanaik, The Furies of Indian Communalism: Religion, Modernity And Secularization     

Vichy's Mass Firing of Women Teachers of Colour in the French Caribbean and its Consequences1

This article examines the application to Martinique and Guadeloupe of Vichy's sexist law of 11 October 1940, relating to the employment of women and its impact on female teachers. We argue that Vichy showed greater zeal in applying the new regime's patriarchal law on women's work in the Caribbean than in mainland France. We examine in detail the 11 October 1940 law and the modalities of its application in the metropole and in the Caribbean, its manipulation by various actors and the arguments mobilized over the course of its promulgation in a West Indian context. Next, we consider to what degree female Caribbean teachers were impacted by these measures and analyse some of the underlying causes for their dismissal. We highlight the broader social and administrative transformations into which this particular purge fitted. Finally, we underscore the agency of fired schoolteachers as well as their resilience.     

中国古代修史的传统及其对国史研究的重要启示

编纂历史是一门大学问 ,中外古今许多历史学家都曾研究过。中国是世界上惟一有几千年不间断历史记录的国家 ,一是因为中国人历史意识强烈 ,认识到历史学的重要性 ,以研究、编写历史作为自己的责任 ;二是因为有制度上的保证 ,即开馆修史 ,专门设立国史馆、历史研究所、历史编纂的机构。在中国史学著作很多 ,主要的题材有传记体、编年体和记事本末体 ;中国的史学评论也很多 ,并且明确提出了对史学家的要求 ,即史才、史学、史识。当代史与现实密切相关 ,具有强烈的政治性 ,修史者必须有正确的立场、观点和方法 ,同样一件史实 ,从不同的政治立场看待 ,会有截然不同的看法和评价     

The Early History of Abingdon,Berkshire, and its Abbey

IN THE LAST decade knowledge of Salin's Style I Ornament in East Scandinavia has increased through the studies of Erä-Esko and through the remarkable finds at a workshop site at Helgö in Uppland. A characteristic feature of East Scandinavian Style I is the frequent use of small ornamental fields bordered by high ridges. In this article it is suggested that the ridges served to canalize the heat of the melted bronze during casting, and so prevent the mould from cracking. This was specially important in East Scandinavia where high-tempered bronze seems chiefly to have been used. That the fragility of the moulds was a real problem is hinted at by the relative numbers found at Helgö. The majority are for casting relief-brooches—which are comparatively rarely found cast. There are fewer moulds for the more frequently found cast bronzes, such as clasp-buttons; because the moulds for these were smaller, they were probably less prone, to damage during casting.

Because of the small size of their ornamental fields and the extensive corrosion which characterizes the bronzes found in East Scandinavia the ornament has often been misunderstood and described as highly degenerate. Through the systematic work of Erä-Esko we now know that East Scandinavian Style I was highly developed and deliberate. The rich finds from Helgö when fully interpreted will probably emphasize further the international character of this style. This appears of greater importance when it is realized that the style seems to have flourished at a time immediately preceding the Vendel period, which is specially rich in East Scandinavia.     

Colour in Minoan faience

The microstructures and chemical compositions of some 15 faience objects from Crete spanning the period from Middle Minoan IIIA through to Late Minoan IA are determined using analytical scanning electron microscopy. The Minoan faience is compared with replicate faience beads produced in the laboratory using various combinations of manganese, copper and iron as colorants. The alkali contents of the replicate beads are varied so that the colorants are present both as ions in a glass phase and as particulate oxides. These data are then used to try to infer the original colour of the Minoan faience, the great majority of which has suffered severe weathering during burial. The results suggest that instead of the present day “hallmark greys and browns” and “subtle greens and blues”, Minoan faience originally exhibited a wide range of colours, including bright turquoise blue, purple and violet, and pale yellow-green and greenish turquoise.     

Re-establishment of Achaemenid History and its Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Iranians were aware of Sasanian history through traditional historical writings, but they knew nothing about Achaemenid history. Following European travelers to Persia from the fifteenth century, who were well prepared by reading the classical and biblical texts, Persepolis and Pasargadae were rediscovered and Achaemenid history re-established in the nineteenth century. The rise of Reza Khan to power and his grand emphasis on nationalism and ancient Iran that characterized his reign also left a deeper impact on Achaemenid studies in this period. In this paper the re-establishment of Achaemenid history and its development in nineteenth and twentieth centuries are discussed and reviewed.     

Drawing the Local Colour Line

My title paraphrases that of Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds's recent book, Drawing the Global Colour Line (Melbourne 2008). As those historians explain, the distinction between white and non-white races was drawn with increasing rigour in the three decades or so on either side of 1900. Locally drawn lines, however, could be more substantive, inscribing boundaries across land and sea which confined white and non-white to one side or the other. The white Australia policy provides a perfect example, attempting to cordon off the continent as the exclusive preserve of the white race. However, the actual location of the colour line around white Australia was disputed in the early decades of the 20th century. While the dominant version of the white Australia policy drew the colour line somewhere north of Thursday Island, a significant body of critics insisted that it be drawn somewhere near the Tropic of Capricorn. This paper explores the arguments and assumptions of those critics.