Whatever Happened to The Little Black Fish?

This essay uses retranslation studies to trace the defanging and domestication of Samad Behrangi’s The Little Black Fish, a children’s story once hailed as a major revolutionary and literary text. Behrangi’s book is the only modern Iranian prose work to have been translated multiple times both before and after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The study compares the texts from several of these retranslations, by considering whether they have been domesticated for their English readers, as well as their context, by looking at the cultural impact of such factors as the Islamic Revolution and US?Iran relations. It looks at how various translators and publishers have interpreted the story and how their perspectives reflect Iranian history, the influence of Middle East studies, and the interests of the Iranian diaspora. The result sheds light on translation norms, as well as on the circulation and interpretation of Iranian literature in the global context.     

Much Lost,Little Gained? Contemporary Trade Agreements in the Pacific Islands

At the close of the 20th century, it was increasingly clear that Pacific Island countries would struggle to remain competitive in international commodity and merchandise trade. As governments worldwide embraced free trade, many Island exporters looked set to be displaced by more efficient producers elsewhere. Island policymakers also faced pressure from more powerful states to renegotiate trading arrangements to bring them into alignment with the rules of the World Trade Organization. This article explains how Pacific Island countries responded to the overlapping challenges of globalization. It considers strategies pursued by Island states in negotiations with the European Union (EU), and with Australia and New Zealand. In both cases, Pacific Islands pressed for agreements that would take account of their unique trading circumstances, and arrangements that would allow more Pacific Islanders to work abroad. After nearly two decades of talks, however, final results proved disappointing. A proposed regional Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU was essentially abandoned, and a regional trade agreement with Australia and New Zealand was concluded without the signature of Fiji or Papua New Guinea – the two largest Pacific Island economies. Ultimately, contemporary trade agreements in the Pacific achieved little to ameliorate the competitive disadvantages Pacific Island states face participating in international trade.     

An Analysis of the “Little China” Ideology of Chosŏn Korea

The Chosŏn dynasty founded by Yi Seong-gye was closely involved in the tributary system of the Ming dynasty. Chosŏn Korea called itself “Little China” due to the following two policies: mohwa (admiring China) and sadae (serving the greater). Chosŏn Korea traced its origin back to the dongyi (Eastern Barbarians) and claimed itself the only nation that had transformed itself from “Yi” (barbarian) to “Hwa” (Chinese) in the Chinese world system. References to the sage Kija (Jizi) in moral, historical, and political writings indicated the beginning of this transformation and thus the worship of Kija was consistently implemented. The ritual and cultural systems in Chosŏn Korea imitated those of China. The policy of admiring China, Confucian thought, and the worship of Confucius comprised a significant part of the “Little China” ideology. After the Ming-Qing transition, Chosŏn Korea did not acknowledge the legitimacy of the Qing dynasty and considered itself the only and true China.     

Trempealeau’s Little Bluff: An Early Cahokian Terraformed Landmark in the Upper Mississippi Valley

Archaeological and geomorphological investigations of Little Bluff (47Tr32), in Trempealeau, Wisconsin, reveal how and, possibly, why this loess-capped sandstone ridge spur was anthropogenically altered in the mid-eleventh century A.D. Project excavation units and trenches dug in 2010–2011 revealed the timing, rate of completion, structure, symmetry, and orientation of the construction. In addition to delineating construction details and associated archaeological features, our research suggests that Cahokians, by sculpting and rebuilding this ridge spur, were actively positioning themselves vis-à-vis the wider Mississippi Valley landscape, if not the cosmos generally.     

Crisis of Ageing in Less Developed Countries: Too Much Consumption or Too Little Production?

The age structure in many developing countries is changing—the population is ageing. There is increasing concern over the social and economic costs of caring for this ageing population, and the capacity of the state to finance the expected rising social expenditure has come to dominate the debate on the economics of population ageing. In this context the elderly are considered primarily as consumers and ‘dependent’ on the working population. Following the Keynesian and post-Keynesian literature, this article argues that such a view of the elderly is incorrect, for several reasons. Firstly, empirical evidence shows that the aged do not consume (relative to their income) more than the rest of the population. Secondly, the issue of ‘dependency’ of the aged should be put in the broader context of the dependency of the unemployed and under-employed in a market economy. Thirdly, the focus of the debate should move away from consumption and towards production; and finally, since the old make claims on the national output on the basis of their accumulated assets, savings and pensions, the distributional issues (with regard to assets as well as incomes) have to be an integral part of any pension system in order to alleviate poverty among the elderly.     

Integrating Archaeology and History at the “Commonwealth Block”: “Little Lon” and Casselden Place

My purpose here is to outline the research design for the excavation and analysis of Casselden Place, make some preliminary remarks about the initial phases of analysis and integration of archaeological and historical datasets at the site, and to make some general comments about the archaeology of the modern city. Much of what I say rests on intensive artifact analysis that has been reported in the papers collected here, in the major site report, and on research being undertaken on assemblages derived from comparable sites in Sydney.     

The Little Nyonya and Singapore’s national self: reflections on aesthetics,ethnicity and postcolonial state formation

Singapore’s postcolonial state formation process has combined the appeal/distress of a multiracial society with the nationalistic pride of economic development. In recent years, the city-state has witnessed a revival of Peranakan culture and history, referring to the descendants of early Chinese immigrants who integrated into Indigenous societies before becoming prized mediators for British colonisers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We question how these references are strategically deployed as part of the process of postcolonial state formation and how their aesthetic representations support public discussions and debates about what defines contemporary (Chinese) Singaporean identity. By examining Peranakan representations in the television series The Little Nyonya from a Deleuzian perspective, it will be argued that Peranakan history and culture are mobilised to de-territorialise previous meanings of national ethnic markers, specifically Chineseness, and to re-territorialise a local sense of Indigeneity. In reaction to concerns over Mainlander identity, representations of Peranakan culture and history in The Little Nyonya support the indigenisation of a specific Chinese identity that is accessible to all Singaporeans, offering an aesthetic framework in which the ongoing process of negotiating between Singapore’s national self and other unfolds.     

MEMORY OF BARRACKS: World War II German ‘Little Berlins’ and post-war urbanization in Northern Finnish towns

Some 220,000 German soldiers were stationed and fought in northern Finland during World War II. These troops required huge amounts of supplies that were provided by supply encampments in several locations, including the towns of Oulu and Tornio. In this paper the authors consider how the memory of these German-built sites has shaped post-war urban heritage. They review and challenge the authorized history of the post-war urbanization of the northern towns.     

“A Little Gravy in the Dish and Onions in a Tea Cup”: What Cookbooks Reveal About Material Culture

Six British colonial and Anglo-American cookbooks from the period 1770–1850 provide insights into the ways in which items of material culture often were used in the past. The multiple functions of many items suggest the need for critical reconsiderations of the functional typologies and status markers so heavily relied upon by historical archaeologists, as well as rethinking of gender associations for some items of material culture.     

Competing to Interpret “Foot Liberation”: Mrs. Archibald Little’s Anti-Footbinding Tour in Hong Kong, 1900

Known as the wife of the famous British merchant Mr. Archibald John Little, Mrs. Archibald Little left many writings on local Chinese customs and cultures. However, more renowned is her consistent advocacy for Chinese women’s emancipation from foot binding, not only by establishing a “Natural Feet Society” in Shanghai, but also by giving numerous anti-footbinding speeches in Chinese cities. One particularly noticeable speech was given in Hong Kong in 1900. It received significant reactions from different social groups. Using Mrs. Little’s own memoir and Hong Kong media coverage, we may be able to reveal the intertwined discursive competition surrounding the anti-footbinding movement. Motivated by a sense of mission to “enlighten,” Mrs. Little was a self-aware “civilized” savior. However, local newspaper reports on her anti-footbinding tour reflected little about the clash of civilizations but their exaggerated concern on the national subjugation and genocide. These two interpretations joined a competition to explain the anti-footbinding movement in late Qing China.