“Culture alone will not put bread on the table.” The many facets of the debate on the preservation of Sami culture

The idea of preserving minority cultures is widely shared in Western nation‐states. Concrete application of this idea is, however, surprisingly difficult, and sophisticated rhetoric is used in discussions related to the issue. In the 1980s and 1990s three laws dealing with the rights of the Sami people were proposed in Finland. Three discourses related to denning the concept of Sami culture in this context are identified here: first, diminishing differences, with an emphasis on equality; second, emphasis on national obligations and the cultural wealth of the majority society; and third, the rhetorical tool of dividing principle and application. The definition of Sami culture varies in different contexts, and in some cases there is even a danger of treating it as a substitute for the concept of race.     

“They Laid Planks ‘Crost the Coffins”: The African Origin of Grave Vaulting in the United States

Grave vaulting, a vernacular burial form common in nineteenth and early twentieth century America, consists of a simple primary grave shaft at the bottom of which is dug a smaller secondary shaft or niche within which the body or coffin is placed. Typically loose boards are then placed over the secondary shaft to offer protection from the soil coming into direct contact with the body or burial container. This tradition is documented through historical accounts and hundreds of excavated graves through a survey of 86 historic cemetery investigations. Although its cultural origins have been previously unknown, this study argues that the vaulted burial form in the United States is likely of African origin. An extensive ethnological survey of historical and modern cultures throughout the continent of Africa, from 1602 to the mid twentieth century, documents both the vaulted grave form and its variations. Correlating this African cultural practice to its use in the United States demonstrates a hitherto unrecognized creolization of Euroamerican mortuary tradition with African roots, and its corollary, the retention of an African mortuary tradition by those of African descent.     

About S. V. Kalesnik's Article on “Monism” and “Dualism” in Soviet Geography

The author defends V. A. Anuchin's efforts to develop the theory of unity of geography based on Marxist-Leninist philosophy. Konovalenko finds that Americans are closely following the theoretical discussion in Soviet geography because they, too, are supposedly searching for a methodological foundation of a unified geography. He holds that Soviet geography, by developing such a theory on a Marxist basis, can win followers within the ranks of foreign geographers, including Americans. S. V. Kalesnik's article appeared in Izvestiya Vsesoyuznogo Geograficheskogo Obshchestva, 1962, No. 1, pp. 15–25, and was translated in Soviet Geography, September 1962 pp. 3–16).     

The Wetland on the“ROOF OF THE WORLD”

<正>The Tibetan plateau is usually referred to as the"Roof of the World".Naturally,the west part of Tibetan plateau,Ngari with high mountain ranges,is most suited to that name.