Neither ‘America’ nor ‘Québec’: constructing the Canadian multicultural nation

ABSTRACT. Although researchers have deconstructed the myth of stark social differences between the various North American sub‐societies, an assimilating American melting pot and an ethnically oppressive monocultural Québec are still popular representations within Canadian majority discourses, such as the English‐language mainstream media and parts of academia. In this paper, I argue that images of ‘America’ and ‘Québec’ play important roles for the multicultural reconstruction of Canadian nationhood. Examining selected op‐ed articles from two Toronto‐based mainstream newspapers during the 1990s, I develop and exemplify a theoretical understanding of how national identities are constituted and transformed within inter‐ and intra‐national relations of power and alterity. I pay special attention to the particularisation of Canada through the confrontation with American nationhood, the ambiguities of recognising the distinctiveness of Québec inside Canada, and the consequences of projecting Québec's supposedly ‘ethnic’ nationalism outside the boundaries of Canadianness.     

日本古代天皇制的形成及其政治结构刍议

日本古代天皇制的形成,启动于圣德太子改革,初步形成（模型化）于孝德天皇与天智天皇的大化改新时期,制度化于大化改新矛盾积累导致的“壬申之乱”后的天武天皇及其继任者持统、文武、元明天皇时期,中间走过了百年左右的曲折历程。圣德太子改革、大化改新、“壬申之乱”是日本古代天皇制形成的三部曲。从政治结构上看,古代天皇制具有明显的日本特色,它是中国式皇帝制与日本祭祀制的统一。古代天皇制特殊的政治结构对后来的日本政治文化传统产生了深远影响。     

Lei,Sean Hsiang-Lin.Neither Donkey nor Horse: Medicine in the Struggle over China's Modernity

A common view of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is that it is a recent invention of the twentieth century, even though many of its practitioners claim that it is a continuation of a tradition lasting thousands of years.In an ambitious book, Sean Hsiang-Lin Lei uses a new perspective to explore the history immediately prior to the invention of TCM.During the Republican era the status and future of Chinese medicine faced serious threats from supporters of Westernmedicine.     

政治认同解构：以马来西亚华人为例

政治认同不仅包括国家认同,而且包括对政府与统治者的认同,把加入国籍看作是政治认同的唯一标志是一种不完善的认识。影响政治认同的因素复杂多样,涉及到认同动机、过程,更重要的是政府的政治合法性。马来西亚华人的政治认同存在着一定的问题,关键原因在于其认同动机的复杂性和过程的艰难性,而且对华人而言,政府的合法性基础也受到一定怀疑。     

Portrayals of Non-North Koreans in North Korean Textbooks and the Formation of National Identity

This article examines the portrayal of non-North Koreans in North Korean textbooks to assess the influences on the formation of North Korean identity, and how such identity formation is important in Kim Jeong-il's retention of power. This study not only looks closely at textual representations; it also examines how political and ideological changes in North Korea had a critical influence on these texts. The study encompasses both lexico-grammatical analysis and the analysis of textual and visual images, based on an examination of six North Korean language textbooks published from 1954 to 2000. It demonstrates that North Korean identity is defined through the portrayal of non-North Koreans, particularly enemy others. The portrayal of non-North Koreans facilitates the formation of a solid North Korean identity – an identity that entails serving their political leaders, remaining vigilant against threats to their country, and liberating South Koreans from poverty and oppression by America and its puppet states.     

To Travel in One Place: Openings for a New Asceticism in the Theology of Stanley Hauerwas

Abstract

The article argues that there is an ascetic character implicit in Stanley Hauerwas's thinking and that a more explicit engagement with the Christian ascetical tradition could clarify some lines of thought in it, in particular the relationship between moral formation and witness. The way Hauerwas treats e.g. the virtues and practices that are used to pursue them, the role of spiritual authority and the difference between Church and world show clear similarities to the thought of early Christian ascetics, such as Evagrios of Pontos, Isaac of Nineveh and John Cassian. By showing how Hauerwas by addressing some key theological, ethical and political developments in modern theology opens up the possibility to overcome modern misunderstandings of asceticisms, the author argues for the relevance of asceticism as a political concept in today's world.     

"总体战"和现代日本"间接金融体制"的形成

日本近代银行虽然早在明治初期已经发端 ,但是明治时代的日本企业基本上是依靠股份和企业内部资金储备扩大再生产 ,即所谓“内部金融时代”。直至 2 0世纪 30年代中期 ,日本企业仍处于主要以发行股票和债券融资的“直接金融” ,和主要以向银行借贷融资的“间接金融”二者并存 ,但以前者为主要的状态。在发动侵华战争、构筑总体战体制以后 ,日本金融体制发生了急剧变化 ,主要表现为资本市场日趋衰微 ,以向银行借贷为主的间接金融体制开始形成。这种体制在战后仍然得以延续。由美国主导的日本战后民主化改革 ,并没有使战时形成的金融体制发生根本性变革。     

Myths and the political use of religion in Christian Democratic culture

Abstract

In this essay, the author will attempt to analyze the overall relationship established between the party of Christian Democracy (so named for its affiliation with a traditional religion) and the phenomena of the sacralization of politics that have so profoundly shaped the character of mass parties in the twentieth century. The quest for consensus led the Catholic party to adopt a new language, based on mythical thinking and profoundly indebted – in content and mode of communication – to the experiences of totalitarianism. The active rivalry with political religions marked, both in the phase of development and in the process of communication, the forms of mass political expression of Christian Democracy. De Gasperi's proposal concerning the definition of new identities and political affiliations, both on the national level and on the broader Western level (both in European and Atlantic terms) was the product of a unique ideological development in keeping with the requirements of modern mass politics.     

The Southwest Michigan Historic Landscape Project: Exploring Class, Gender, and Ethnicity from the Ground Up

The Southwest Michigan Historic Landscape Project was initiated in 1994 to examine how the cultural landscapes and associated material culture of the region became transformed since the pioneer settlement of the early 19th century (ca. 1830s). Thus far we have used various methods to investigate four sites in Allegan, Calhoun, and Jackson counties at varying levels of intensity. From these initial efforts we have begun to compile comparative information on the built environment. Here we present the theory and methods used in the project and discuss how class, gender, and ethnic identities are expressed in the material record of the region.     

The Not So Peaceful Civilization: A Review of Maya War

The first Maya encountered by Europeans in the early sixteenth century were exceedingly warlike, but by the 1940s the earlier Classic Maya (AD 250–1000) were widely perceived as an inordinately peaceful civilization. Today, in sharp contrast, conflict is seen as integral to Maya society throughout its history. This paper defines war, reviews the evidence for it in the Maya archaeological record, and shows how and why our ideas have changed so profoundly. The main emphasis is on the Classic period, with patterns of ethnohistorically documented war serving as a baseline. Topics include the culture history of conflict, strategy and tactics, the scope and range of operations, war and the political economy, and the intense status rivalry war of the eighth and ninth centuries AD that contributed to the collapse of Classic civilization. Unresolved issues such as the motivations for war, its ritual vs. territorial aims, and sociopolitical effects are discussed at length.     

In pursuit of independence: the political economy of Catalonia's secessionist movement

This article examines the fiscal dimensions of recent support for Catalan secession. Since the region is a cultural community distinct from the rest of Spain, much research has spotlighted national identity features in the calculus of Catalan political aspirations. This study supplements this work by contextualising support for Catalan independence in terms of the state's fiscal arrangements with the use of public opinion survey data. Even after controlling for self‐reported cultural identity and other relevant factors, it argues that support for independence is a function of grievances rooted in the desire for Catalonia to assume responsibility for taxation and spending policy. Meanwhile, it validates some observations about Catalonia's separatist movement, while bringing others into question, and offers support for the theoretical framework linking political economy to secessionism. The results suggest that Spain might be able to stave off Catalonia's separatist bid through some form of political and taxation policy reconfiguration, with the caveats that cultural identity factors and the existence of other separatist movements across the country complicate this strategy.     

Teaching Political Theology as Ministerial Formation

Abstract

This article reflects on the experience of teaching political theology to undergraduate students training for public ministry in the Anglican, Methodist, URC and Roman Catholic traditions in a British context. Whilst welcoming the increased profile of political theology within ministerial training this article challenges the continuing tendency towards dualist and instrumental accounts and poses three areas for further reflection and resourcing: relationship between practical, political theologies and theology of action, the need for increased resourcing of Churches as technologies of citizenship; and further reflection on how the nature and contribution of Catholic political theology might be conceived.     

论"三个代表"重要思想的形成

"三个代表"重要思想的形成经历了一个长时期的酝酿过程,体现了江泽民准确把握当今世界发展趋势和我国社会发生的一系列变化的战略智慧,是科学总结我们党80年奋斗、特别是20多年改革开放实践经验的必然结论,是深刻思考世界上一些政党兴衰和我们党执政面临的严峻挑战的思想结晶,是创造性地继承和发展马列主义、毛泽东思想、特别是邓小平理论的最新成果。     

论南京国民政府抗战的思想文化准备

南京国民政府抗战的思想文化准备,始于“济南惨案”,“九一八事变”至“华北事变”期间逐步具体化,之后全面展开。这既包括在教育、宣传、文学艺术等方面的努力,也包括新生活运动、国民精神动员的进行,还包括为避免战争损失而实施的文物南迁及学校内迁等。其具有韬光养晦、隐秘进行,“安内攘外”、矛盾交织,由虚到实、由部分到整体等特点。这对激扬民族主义,增强精神国防和保证抗战胜利具有重要作用,但也不乏政治思想局限性。     

Archaeological Perspectives on the Rise of the Okinawan State

This paper presents an examination of processes of secondary state formation that occurred during the emergence of the Ryukyu Kingdom, in southwestern Japan, from the tenth to seventeenth centuries A.D. These processes include the influx of new populations, the appearance of new subsistence strategies and political groupings, shifting patterns of long-distance trade, the development of new patterns of foreign relations with China and Japan, the creation of indigenous culture and new ideology, and the transformation of gender hierarchy. I examine these processes from the perspective of political leadership and the nature of political hierarchy, concluding that the Okinawan case is distinctive in its heterarchical organization. The corporate, collective nature of Okinawan communities was overlain by a state-level network system that developed at the time of tributary linkages with China in the fourteenth century A.D.     

Neither ‘New Melanesian History’ nor ‘New Melanesian Ethnography’: Recovering Emplaced Matrilineages in Southeast Solomon Islands

ABSTRACT For two decades, Melanesianists have sought to reconcile what Robert Foster (1995) termed the ‘New Melanesian History’ and the ‘New Melanesian Ethnography’. The former describes historically oriented studies that critique representations of Melanesian custom as recent objectifications of strategically positioned discourses and practices. The latter describes culturally oriented, particularist studies that characterize Melanesian sociality as an undifferentiated plane of being without integral a priori units; on every scale, human agency must individuate persons and collectivities by means of ‘fraction’, ‘de‐conception’, and ‘decomposition’. In this article I present data from Solomon Islands that resist analysis in terms of an unqualified both/and synthesis of these orientations. Specifically, I argue that articulations of matrilineal connections to land among the Arosi of Makira are neither merely postcolonial reifications of custom nor historically conditioned ‘depluralizations’ from an always pre‐constituted social pleroma. Through historically situated case studies, I show how Arosi land disputes both reproduce and revalue matrilineally defined categories, each understood as the humanized continuation of an autonomous primordial essence. Recognition of the continuing importance of these categories among Arosi highlights what the New Melanesian Ethnography has obscured: that some Melanesians confront a historically transforming problem of how pre‐existent parts fit together to make up social totalities.     

Devolution and national identity: the rules of English (dis)engagement

ABSTRACT. In this article I consider why the expected English backlash to the asymmetric UK devolution settlement has not yet materialised. Using a corpus of conversational interviews, I discuss the various ways in which people in England currently understand the relationship between national identity and political entitlement. I conclude that English political quiescence, far from constituting an enigma, is comprehensible in the light of the fact that members of the general public do not usually base their assessments of political legitimacy on calculations of English national self‐interest defined in contrast to Scotland. Rather, political issues tend to be judged with reference to principles of equity and procedural justice. English identity is rarely considered legitimate grounds for political voice. Rather, people are inclined to demonstrate a concern to balance the recognition of Scottish rights to national self‐determination, with a display of public reason, civility and civic responsibility understood to be normatively incumbent upon the English majority.     

In God We Trust: Abraham Lincoln and America's Deathbed Repentance

Abstract

This article maps several key moments in the evolution of religious symbolism and language on US currency, focusing largely on Abraham Lincoln's overlooked role in signing the motto "In God We Trust" into law. Interpreting the motto through the lens of Lincoln's "Second Inaugural Address"—which he delivered just one day after Congress passed the first statute allowing "In God We Trust" to be stamped on US coins—offers a counter-intuitive interpretation of the motto that functions as a deep, ironic, and historically significant critique of religious nationalism.