The Authoritative Medium: George Eliot,Ruin, and the Rationalized Market

This essay analyses the competing dynamics that shaped the formation of market relations in mid-nineteenth-century Britain: abstraction and rationalization, on the one hand, and embeddedness and personalism, on the other. It takes as its central case the mid-century debates over bankruptcy reform, focusing in particular on two textual representations of ‘ruin’: the system of certificates classifying bankrupts according to their culpability of character, established in 1849 and abolished in 1861; and Eliot's 1860 novel The Mill on the Floss, with its account of financial and sexual ruin. I argue that the debates surrounding the character certificates' intervention in market relations, and Eliot's explorations of abstract and embedded or sympathetic modes of knowledge were part of a larger concern to negotiate the tensions produced by the contemporary impulse toward market rationalization. Eliot's mode of omniscient narration – her construction of a simultaneously interested and disinterested, authoritative and sympathetic narrative voice – represented, I suggest, a novelistic instance of a broader cultural fantasy that an approach to character representation could be found that would mediate the changing marketplace. At the same time, her narration of the story of debt through familial and sexualized representations highlights the way that the personal continued to pose a challenge to the establishment of market rationality. However, despite the generic distinctions that can be traced, I argue that their shared interest in character provides grounds for the project of reading across genres, and suggest that the cultural history of the Victorian credit economy requires attention to what different genres have in common, as much as how they have diverged.     

Fluids associated with hydrothermal dolomitization in St. George Group,western Newfoundland,Canada

Dolomite reservoirs are increasingly recognized as an important petroleum exploration target, although the application of a hydrothermal dolomite exploration model to these reservoirs remains controversial. The St. George Group of western Newfoundland consists of a sequence of dolomitised carbonates, with significant porosity development (up to 30%) and petroleum accumulations. Fluid inclusion microthermometry and bulk fluid leach analyses indicated that fluids responsible for matrix dolomitization (associated with intercrystalline porosity) and later saddle dolomitization are CaCl₂ ± MgCl₂ rich, high salinity (up to 26 eq. wt% NaCl) brines. Integration of fluid inclusion data with thermal maturation histories from the St. George Group show that these dolomites formed at temperatures higher than the ambient rock temperature, and are therefore hydrothermal in origin. Bulk leach analyses show that dolomitization is associated with influxes of postevaporitic brines (±Cl enriched magmatic fluids) late in the diagenetic history of these carbonates. This dolomitization is possibly Devonian in age, during a period of significant magmatic activity, extensional tectonics and development of hypersaline basins. Petrographic and geochemical similarities between Paleozoic hosted hydrothermal dolomitization in western Newfoundland, eastern Canada and the northeastern United States are consistent with a regional‐scale hydrothermal dolomitization event late in the diagenetic history of these carbonates. Geofluids (2010) 10 , 422–437     

The Changing Faces of Canada: Images of Canada in National Geographic

Carol Shields, one of Canada's and America's most popular and critically acclaimed writers, is the perfect example of the former permeability of the Canada–United States border. Born Carol Ann Warner in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1935, she married Canadian engineering student Donald Shields and immigrated with him to Canada in 1957, becoming a Canadian citizen in 1971. Between her immigration to Canada and her death nearly half a century later, Shields criss-crossed the 49^th parallel – traditionally known as the world's longest undefended border, until 9/11 drastically changed travel – with ease. Her fictional characters cross the Canada–United States border with equal ease. Shields crosses borders not only literally, but also figuratively, as she travels from genre to genre with ease. Most famous for her fiction, Shields published in many genres, including poetry, drama, short stories, biography, and literary criticism, and she incorporates these other genres in her novels. Thus, Shields shows how art can cross borders with exemplary grace.     

The Golden Fleece: Myth, Euhemeristic Explanation and Archaeology

'The Golden Fleece' figures in Greek mythology as the principal objective of the expedition of the Argonauts. The question of the essence and real meaning of the Golden Fleece is widely discussed in the Classical world and modern specialist literature as well. It can be hypothesized that in Greek stories about the Argonauts the Golden Fleece was a symbol of a protector of royal power. The country where the Golden Fleece was preserved, i.e. Aea/Colchis, is identified with modern Western Georgia. The richness of Colchis in metal, mainly gold, became a basis for the euhemerizing, i.e. rationalist explanation, of the Golden Fleece.     

The Place of the Dog: AKC Breeds in American Culture

The American Kennel Club (AKC), the primary registry agency for purebred dogs in the United States, had recognized 138 breeds through September 1995. An investigation of the source areas of these breeds reveals the cultural authority of Great Britain in organized dog breeding in the United States. Although Great Britain accounts for more than one-third of the AKC breeds, however, its importance has declined. Dogs from Asia account for more than one-fifth of the breeds recognized since World War II. Breed names that contain toponymic elements (such as Sussex Spaniel) usually reinforce the importance of the area in which the breeds were developed. An analysis of the patterns of geographic names reveals a pronounced emphasis on Western Europe, particularly Great Britain. A decline in the prominence of names from Europe has occurred. Asian name sources have become more important, and Australia and Africa have begun receiving attention. North America as a source of breeds as well as a source of naming has occupied a relatively minor role throughout the AKC's history. American breeders and promoters of purebred dogs have tended to look outward, especially toward Europe, for sociocultural forms.     

元明金银首饰中的瓜与鼠

瓜是雅俗、也是南北共赏的题材。所谓“瓜”,自古以来是指甘瓜、果瓜,亦即甜瓜,虽然在辽代壁画里已经出现了放在果盘上面的西瓜,但它是描绘生活场景,作为装饰题材,甘瓜几乎是一枝独秀的。     

The Golden Cradle Quest: Internationalizing a Contemporary Legend

This article analyses the popular Crimean legend ‘The Golden Cradle Quest’. The article examines its transformation from an ancient folk legend to a widespread contemporary legend which mixes two different traditions: Western stories about the Holy Grail and Crimean legends about the Golden Cradle. Finally, the article traces how these legends have reached a global audience.