Modern and Medieval Approaches to Pilgrimage,Gender and Sacred Space

This article examines both modern ethnographical, and medieval hagiographical, constructs of sacred space in the context of female pilgrimage. Beginning with an overview of the ways in which anthropological theories of sacred space and gender have informed pilgrimage scholarship over the last fifty years, it focuses in particular on two conceptual models: that which argues that spatial practices employed by cult centres served to distance women from holy places, and that which contends that accommodation was reached between the devotional aspirations of female pilgrims on the one hand, and the institutional policies of the Church on the other. In turning to the Middle Ages, the second part of the article examines narrative representations of sacred space, and reveals that the spatial challenges posed by female pilgrimage in the medieval West were addressed and mediated in hagiography in surprisingly similar ways.     

Perception of Sacred Space

Discrimination of space into sacred and profane is as old as mankind. This study suggests a typology for categorizing sacred Space at three broad levels: mysticoreligious, homelands and historical. Each is further divided on the basis of the extent of the group which shares the consensus view of sanctity. Recognizable levels include international, national, regional, community, neighborhood and individual sacred space. The Mormon culture was used as a basis to test the validity of the proposed typology through use of two questionnaires administered to Mormons. The first questionnaire was an open-ended survey to determine all important regions which were recognized as sacred. The second questionnaire was then prepared which required respondents to rank 15 sacred sites or regions in terms of their sanctity. An analysis of the responses indicates that those sites which are perceived as most sacred are mystico-religious sites where Mormons believe contact occurs between divine powers and man. The next level of sanctity was applied to homelands. The recognized homelands include Utah and Jackson County, Missouri which the Mormons view as a promised land. The third and lowest level of sacred space includes sites of historical importance to Mormons.     

Textiles and the Making of Sacred Space

This paper develops a perspective on fabric and its use in religious settings, working from a comparative survey of critical literature arising, primarily, from anthropological writings on cloth and clothing in conjunction with insights gained from ethnographic research among Eastern Orthodox Christians. While the character of Orthodox Christianity and the broad nature of comparative religion shape how the argument is presented, the primary focus of the paper is not on the religious contexts, but rather the particular items of fabric in use, and, more generally, the exact qualities of fabric that allow for its use in such diverse contexts. Rather than taking an argument of historical specificity, the paper is grounded in a material culture approach to fabric, suggesting that a cross-cultural appraisal of fabric that spans different historical periods allows critical insight into the modes of operation within human experience. The central argument of the paper is that, because of the material qualities inherent in fabric, it can be used in such a manner as to make present the sacred.     

Classifications of Sacred Space: A New Understanding of Mass Rock Sites in Ireland

As locations of a distinctively Catholic faith, Mass Rocks are important historical, ritual and counter-cultural sites that present a tangible connection to Ireland’s rich heritage for contemporary society. Recent authors have begun to fill a gap in published literature yet few go beyond traditional assumptions. This paper offers a more contemporary approach to the study of Mass Rocks based on extensive field research in county Cork. It argues for the introduction of new and innovative classifications that expand the accepted archaeological definition and proposes a set of criteria for the more robust verification of potential sites.     

A Sacred Space for Women: Hymnody in Emma Hale Smith's Theology

Emma Smith oversaw the compilation of the first Mormon hymnal in 1835 and then prepared a second hymnal in 1841. This article contextualises and discusses Smith's significant assignment, and considers how a woman's hymn selections influenced early Mormonism. It also considers what Smith's hymnals reveal about her own life story and what her life story reveals about her hymn selections. While Smith's first hymnal highlights the emphasis she placed on immediately establishing a city of Zion in preparation for the millennial reign of a triumphal Christ, her second hymnal underscores the need to develop and foster a personal relationship with a merciful Saviour. Smith's 1835 hymnal emphasises being a Zion people immediately, whereas her 1841 hymnal, compiled in the context of intense personal and collective trials and religious persecution, highlights the importance of striving to become a more Zion‐like people over time. The different doctrinal emphases reflects their respective Mormon cultures at the time of compilation, and captures how the church responded to and grappled with its failure to establish Zion immediately. As a compiler of hymns, Smith clearly plays a significant role in Mormon history, while also demonstrating how women could impact their particular religious communities.     

是继承还是偏离：布罗代尔新论

布罗代尔并不是年鉴学派创始人不折不知的遗产继承人,他的理论从一开始就含有根本偏离费弗尔、布洛克的轨道的成分;他的实践以其理论为指导,事件史被排除在他的历史之外,片面强调环境和结构对人类历史发展的单向决定作用。正是通过他的理论和实践,布罗代尔拔转了年鉴学派大船的航向,他本人也悄悄地路上了与年鉴学派创始人所主张的方向相偏离的道路,这是他的长时段理论及其实践的合乎逻辑的结果。     

全球史对世界史编纂理论和方法的发展

“全球史观”是近年来由国外史学界首先提出的一种研究世界历史的新观点,在这种新视野影响下形成的全球史史学显示出新的世界史编纂模式。全球史史学与传统世界史相比,无论在视角、编纂范围、意识形态、研究方法、历史分期和话语特征诸方面都有新的突破。全球史史学尚不能代替国别史的传统研究领域,但它开创了新的领域———研究国家或区域间的互动交流和全球文明在其他方面的整体关联。全球史史学所带来的方法论意义以及它所表现出的对带有强烈欧洲中心论意识形态的旧世界史体系的解构具有进步意义。     

An Introduction to Navajo Sacred Places

This study provides a socioeconomic profile of the Cuban American population. As a means of reference, Cuban Americans are compared: (1) to the entire Hispanic population and (2) to the total population of the United States. In addition, Cubans living in Miami, Florida are compared to those living in Union City-West New York, New Jersey. Together, these two urban concentrations comprise approximately 75% of the entire Cuban American population. Although the latest wave of 130,000 immigrants from Mariel, Cuba are not included in the data used in this study, generalizations are made regarding their characteristics and probable impact on Miami, based on available preliminary information     

New Approaches to Innovation Policy: Some Norwegian Examples

The paper describes and assesses three Norwegian innovation policy tools. The tools cover three different models of strengthening firms' innovation capability, i.e. direct financial support, broker and advisory systems and technology or knowledge centres. The tools include some new elements in innovation policy design, and thus, some elements of good practice. Guidelines for good practice includes an interactive perspective on innovation support, a focus on innovation systems, context sensitivity and a regional focus, learning in the support system and receiver-oriented and proactive working methods.     

Approaches to marsupial biochronology in Australia and New Guinea

Mammal (marsupial) palaeontology is useful for the correlation of non-marine strata of Australia and New Guinea. The geochronological framework constructed from marsupial data is based substantially in stage-of-evolution biochronology, which is not subject to the formal guidance of a code, or regulation by an authority. Instead, it has evolved through an informal consensus of usage. Principles and practices of stage-of-evolution biochronology and its historical development are reviewed from an Australian perspective. Amongst more recent developments in the discipline are the establishment of the first marsupial biostratigraphy for the continent, covering the Etadunna Formation of the Lake Eyre Basin (Woodburne et al., 1993), and the introduction of novel terminology to express marsupial succession in the Carl Creek Limestone of northwestern Queensland (Archer et al., 1989). The merits of the various approaches to biochronology are examined: stage-of-evolution biochronology has provided, and will continue to contribute to, a correlation framework for a continent with a sparse mammal record not generally amenable to biostratigraphic resolution. Terminology proposed by Archer et al. (1989) is shown to be unsatisfactory.     

Sacred Space in the Worldview and Art of the Tungus-manchu Ethnic Minority Sakhalin Island

The article contributes to research into concepts of sacredness held by the Tungus-Manchu ethnic minority living on Sakhalin Island. The study focuses on the Rukutama staff found by a hunter in 1972 on the Angurovka River, an old arm of the Rukutama River. The staff displays the spatial features of Sakhalin Island in great detail, all of which were included into the life cycle of the island's inhabitants. Sacred knowledge was transmitted over centuries via generations of shamans using the language of sacred compositions, “visual folklore.” Visual art is central to the study of the ethnic history and culture of the modern inhabitants of Sakhalin Island.     

东岳庙与迎春

远古先民信奉万物有灵,他们崇拜和敬畏一切神秘的不可知的事物。泰山绵延横亘于山东中部,与周围的平原和丘陵相比显得突兀而挺拔,其雄伟的山体、富饶的物产、“云触石而出,肤寸而合,不崇朝而偏雨天下”的神奇天象尤其令先民们感到敬畏。泰山峻及于天,自古就被认为是与天相接的地方,在这里人们可以与上天沟通。因此,泰山崇拜是一种典型的山岳崇拜。汉代有了五岳制,东岳泰山被列首位,为五岳宗长,群山之最。