Reinterpreting the economic and social history of Spanish South America

Haciendas and ‘Ayllus’: Rural Society in the Bolivian Andes in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. By Herbert S. Klein. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1993. Pp. xvi, 230.

Colombia before Independence: Economy, Society and Politics under Bourbon Rule. By Anthony McFarlane. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Pp. xiv, 399.

Encomienda y encomenderos en el Perú. Estudio social y político de una institución colonial. By Jose De La Puente Brunke. Seville: Excma. Diputación Provincial, 1992. Pp. 536.

Deudas olvidadas. Instrumentos de crédito en la economía colonial peruana 1750–1820. By Alfonso W. Quiroz. Lima: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 1993. Pp. 233.

Coercion and Market: Silver Mining in Colonial Potosí, 1692–1826. By Enrique Tandeter. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1993. Pp. xiv, 332.     

Women in Praise of Women: Female Poets and Female Patrons in Qajar Iran

This study examines the poetry of two women of nineteenth-century Iran—one royal, one non-royal—and the women patrons for whom they composed praise poetry. Through the reconstruction of female-centered patronage networks and associated female-only performance venues, and via an examination of the active roles played by female patrons both in affairs of state and in the management of the immense royal harem, this study highlights the various ways in which members of several generations of women in Qajar Iran were involved in the production, dissemination and appreciation of poetry. It is argued here that these patronage and poetry production networks should be read as evidence of a female-centered literary tradition, one that was in dialogue with (and often intersected) the dominant male tradition; one that empowered the women actors within it to create a sisterhood of poets through which their art could be passed on from mother to daughter, and from daughter to granddaughter (and occasionally from mother to son).     

The Military of Qajar Iran: The Features of an Irregular Army from the Eighteenth to the Early Twentieth Century

The article examines the parameters of the irregular army in Qajar Iran, including its assembly, numbers, and provisions, as well as the army's organizational structure: its administration and the divisions of the ad hoc forces (provincial militia and tribal cavalry) and of the standing forces (the shah's bodyguard and artillery corps). Until the creation of the so-called regular army units in Iran at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the irregular army was regarded as the only military force in the service of the Qajar dynasty. Despite the existence of a “regular army,” irregular forces, particularly tribal cavalry, continued to play a significant role in Iran's military system throughout the nineteenth century. By understanding the features of the irregular army—its role in Qajar society, its organizational and social structures, its ethnic composition, and other characteristics—we can better understand the character of the state itself.     

The Caspian Forests of Northern Iran during the Qajar and Pahlavi Periods: Deforestation,Regulation, and Reforestation

Uniquely among the world’s temperate forests, much of the vegetation of the Caspian forests is now endangered. But while deforestation has accelerated in Iran, these processes were actually underway in the nineteenth century. This article offers a brief introduction to the history of forest exploitation and concessions during the Qajar and Pahlavi periods, addressing actions taken by the Iranian state to protect and extend forest cover, but also the deficiencies of that legislation and the reasons for its failure. Though it is one of the most forested countries in the Middle East, Iran’s forests remain understudied. Existing scholarship mostly addresses the contemporary period; this paper extends the scope of our knowledge, offering a deeper history of forest exploitation in Iran.     

近30年来中国社会史研究的方法论意义

在充分了解和理解已有社会史研究成果的基础上,本文意欲探讨近30年来中国社会史研究业已展示出来的方法论意义.其一,不论其最初是以"历史学中的一个分支学科"还是"范式"意义的面貌出现,社会史在今天已然承载了推进旧史学研究方法向新史学方向转变的历史重任.其二,伴随着新旧"范式"的转换,社会史对传统政治史主题令人耳目一新的研究,揭示了研究视角转换背后蕴含的方法论意义.其三,随着研究视角转换和研究视野扩大,社会史在拓展史料范围的基础上生发出解读不同史料的不同方法,如果把它放在"历史即史料学"的脉络下看,其方法论意义尤为深刻.     

The history and philosophy of social science

Carlo Ginzburg is best known as the author of a popular and widely commented work of microstoria Il formaggio e i vermi, published in 1976. Rather than focusing on Ginzburg's contributions to the genre of microstoria, or on the development of his long and very productive scholarly career, my aim in this article is to reflect on a set of themes that recur, with impressive persistence, in his work, from his earliest publications in the mid-1960s, to his most recent works. Above all, I suggest that two elements recur in his work, and that these, jointly, impart upon it its defining character. They are the concern with epistemological issues of knowing, and the ethical conception of the historian's work, which Ginzburg expressess and defends with urelenting rigour.     

The public and private history of eugenics: an introduction

Inspired by our experience addressing the legacy of eugenics at California State University, Sacramento, this special issue presents an array of articles representative of diverse approaches to the historical investigation of eugenics. This article provides an introduction to the history of eugenics and explores the ways in which public history is particularly well suited to shape the historical memory of eugenics and encourage dialogue about contemporary biotechnologies.     

Moving beyond the rational choice debate via social capital: The study of illegal private protection

In the context of the epistemological and methodological debates about rational choice (RC) sparked by Green and Shapiro and the subsequent rejoinders, Hindmoor made the theoretical claim that there is now an opportunity for RC to be enhanced and for past debates to be set aside by incorporating different theoretical perspectives into RC. This article presents an example of one context in which this can be done: the study of illegal private protection (IPP) produced by organised criminals and corrupt officials. It extends a rational theory of criminal protection to enable the simultaneous analysis of corrupt protection and augments this approach with theories of social capital (SC). Both positive and negative forms and effects of SC are considered. This approach highlights a middle ground between advocates and critics of RC, demonstrating a capacity to explain patterns in the production of IPP between organisations and across countries.

针对格林、沙皮罗与弗里德曼的否定者所发起的有关理性选择的认识论及方法论论战,辛德摩尔提出一个理论主张：现在正可以通过吸纳不同的视角而弘扬理性选择,以往的辩论可置之一旁。本文讨论了一个可行的案例：有组织犯罪分子造成的非法私人保护。作者应用理性理论于犯罪保护,对腐败保护做了分析,并用社会资本理论扩展了这一方法。作者对社会资本理论的正负短长做了分析。这样的研究强调了介于理性选择理论赞同方与反对方的中间地带,展示对于组织间及跨国非法私人保护的产生的解释能力。     

Artisan dynamics in the age of colonialism: the social history of Moroccan Jewish goldsmiths in the inter-war period

The article highlights the social history of Jewish goldsmiths in French Morocco between the two World Wars, a period in which the global capitalist system challenged their historical monopoly over production and commerce. Continued external intervention (Moroccan commercial treaties with European capitalist markets), direct competition (the import of cheap industrial products and an influx of entrepreneurs), the mechanisation of local manufacturing, the encouragement of individualism resulting in the breakdown of Jewish social cohesion and the taking over of political institutions by France (the Makhzen) and its local agent (the Muhtaseb) had all eroded the Jewish monopoly of the precious-metals industry and created an unexpected atmosphere of strong economic, political and judicial pressures on Jewish goldsmiths. In order to explore the struggle and survival of Jewish goldsmiths in the new economic order, the article addresses the following key questions: (1) What was the influence of various forces, both external and internal, on the Jewish goldsmiths' industry?; (2) How did the artisans respond to and cope with these new economic conditions?; and (3) Why did the Protectorate revert back from liberal economic policy to that of local producers' protection?