虎丘“三花”的前世今生

<正>"阿要买茉莉花……""阿要买白兰花……"对中老年的苏州人来说,这是两句充满了儿时记忆的熟悉吆喝声,往往从身板硬朗、健步行走的老妪口中传来,依然柔糯悦耳。伴随着悠扬的叫卖声,映入眼帘的先是一只精致竹篮,篮里的茉莉花、白兰花洁净素雅,三、五朵相缀,嫩绿枝叶相衬,格外清新,一股浓郁的清幽香味也扑鼻而至,沁人心脾。是的,茉莉花、白兰花,还有玳玳花,这就是令苏州人颇为自豪的、以"三花"为代表的虎丘花卉,也是虎丘山下的一道靓丽的风景线。     

British Muslims: Past,Present and Future

Abstract: Around the European Union, the implication by large sections of society is that there is something intrinsically different about Islam that makes it difficult to integrate Muslims into European societies. Some of these sections of society are non‐Muslim, and are reluctant to allow such integration to take place; others are Muslim. These sentiments raise a number of issues relating to plural identities and their compatibility with modern day Europe and Islam, with such issues finding variable expressions in member‐states. The British example represents an illustrative case study, having a long history of interaction with Muslims and being the home of a large Muslim population. History bears witness that in terms of religious diversity, the U.K. was never a monolithic society based on a monoculture. From the Middle Ages until the beginning of the twentieth century, there is strong evidence to show that there was, at the least, British contact with Muslims. In Britain, just as all over Europe, Islam has a long lineage: “For British Muslims, the past does not have to be ‘another country.’”     

"We Are Who We Are": Humanity and Divinity in Russian Literature and History

Book reviewed in this article:
Laura Engelstein and Stephanie Sandler, (eds.) Self and Story in Russian History     

古镇今昔

历史造就了泰宁古城,但却葆不住其青春活力,古镇在漫长历史长河中历尽了沧桑。现在,让我们从心灵深处搜寻情思,抚摸古镇历经风雨而不凋的色彩和当代赋予她的秀美风华。     

Decolonising Indonesia,Past and Present

ABSTRACT

In the pursuit of an “authentically Indonesian” nation-state, for decades Indonesians have denied the civil rights of fellow citizens for allegedly being less authentically Indonesian. A key to the longstanding efficacy of such exclusionary ethno-nationalism is the failure to recognise the trans-national solidarity that helped give birth to independent Indonesia. Such solidarity is best illustrated in the extraordinary case of the making in Australia of a documentary film, Indonesia Calling (1946). A starting point of this article is the proposition that Indonesia’s cultural politics of the past and its future is never free from a protracted battle over what the nation is allowed, or willing, or able to forget and remember from its past. Mere disclosure of Indonesia’s past history with its cosmopolitan features will not necessarily lead to changes for the better in contemporary Indonesia, especially if the new revelation runs counter to the interests of those in power. Nonetheless, no substantial and long-term change for the better is possible for Indonesia without serious, open, critical re-examination of the revolutionary making of the Republic, and due acknowledgment that inauthenticity, plurality and trans-national solidarity are the hallmarks of the process.     

Agency and Archaeology: Past, Present, and Future Directions

In light of the growing social scientific interest in agency theory, this paper sets out to examine and critically evaluate recent approaches to agency within archaeology. To this end, the paper briefly outlines the foundational theories of Pierre Bourdieu and Anthony Giddens before turning to discuss the central themes and issues that emerge from some of the more influential contemporary approaches to agency within archaeology. Drawing from these differing approaches, this paper seeks to establish conceptual clarity in archaeological thinking about agency through a discussion of the importance of distinguishing between intentions, consequences, meanings, and motives when seeking to understand the situated subjectivities of historical actors.     

The Archaeology of Al-Andalus: Past,Present and Future

Abstract

THIS PAPER PRESENTS AN OVERVIEW of the archaeology of al-Andalus (the Arabic name for Islamic Spain and Portugal), from its beginnings in the late 1970s to the present day. Innovative approaches and challenging theoretical stances made the archaeology of al-Andalus the spearhead of medieval archaeology in Iberia between the 1980s and 1990s. A problematic, and often conflicting, relationship between archaeology and history has characterised medieval archaeology in Spain since its inception, however, and a new awareness of these problems is emerging. This paper reviews past and current attitudes to such challenges and reflects on the future needs of the discipline. It also reflects on the politics of archaeology and on the role of medieval archaeology in revealing social change, which has until now been underrated.