Historicization of the culture concept

Recent criticisms for culture concept targeted a vision of culture as a hermetically sealed synchronic entity tied to a spatial unit. The article urges the historicization of the concept of culture itself, rather than discarding it altogether. Culture constitutes historical processes of the interpenetration between two mutually constituent forces: the global and the local. Culture through time requires a re‐examination of such concepts as “hybridity,”; “cosmopolitanism,”; and “historical discontinuity of the present from the past.”; Three cases of Japanese historical experiences are presented as examples of possible ways to historicize anthropology.     

Fat Christians and fit elites: negotiating class and status in Evangelical Christian weight-loss culture

As American culture has become increasingly concerned about fatness, the fat body and weight loss have become salient symbols for other social tensions. This article uses the case of evangelical Christian weight-loss culture to argue that class is one of those tensions. Drawing on ethnographic work in a Christian weight-loss program as well as on recent theories of class, I argue that certain recurring concerns in Christians’ weight-loss discourse, notably concerns about fat Christian leaders and appearing healthy, reflect tensions about class-based aspirations and class-based denigrations evangelicals face in negotiating their position in American society.     

挖掘南昌文化内涵提升城市文化品位

“一座城市的文化,是这座城市的灵魂.“发达城市建设的经验表明,一座城市不能单纯发展经济,它还需要“城市之魂“--文化.作为一座城市的“气“和“神“,文化的发展决定和影响着城市发展的眼光、胸襟和持续发展的后劲.……     

陈独秀“二次革命论”概念的由来及其表述

陈独秀"二次革命论"的概念,毛泽东等党和国家重要领导人没有使用过,党的一些重要会议和历史文献也没有使用过.1927年1月召开的中央政治局会议在对共产国际第七次扩大会议中国问题决议案的解释中最早提出"二次革命论"概念,以后蔡和森、李立三、华岗等提出并使用过这个概念.但这个概念提出后只在极小的范围和时限内使用,直到建国后,胡乔木在<中国共产党三十年>中将陈独秀的理论概括为"二次革命论",何干之、胡华、李新等学者相继采用这一说法,这一概念才被学术界广泛使用.因此,"二次革命论"概念的提出与共产国际指导中国革命有关,也与当时"左"倾情绪有关;这一概念的使用只含有学术意味,并不带有政治意味.     

现代新儒家文化哲学的核心理念

现代新儒家文化哲学的核心理念是其文化价值观。这种文化价值观认为,人类文化的价值集中体现在精神文化,精神文化区分为形而下文化与形而上文化,形而上文化的核心是哲学思想。现代新儒家标举和阐扬儒家式的人文主义,反对片面地发展人类文化中属于工具理性的科学技术,谋求中国文化现代化过程中科学价值与人文价值的结合。但是,现代新儒家所追求的人文价值归根结蒂乃是道德价值。论者一般将现代新儒学的文化保守主义归结为以下两项:其一是中体西用的思想纲领,其二是泛道德主义的价值取向。本文则认为,中体西用的思想纲领归根结蒂也还是体现了泛道德主义的价值取向。现代新儒家在力图抵制和消除科学主义所导致的现代社会弊病,谋求科学与人文平衡发展的同时,以其泛道德主义的价值取向,表现并凸显了现代新儒学的文化保守主义思想。     

From sedition to patriotism: performance, place, and the reinterpretation of American ethnic identity

Between the two World Wars, many Americans changed their attitudes toward ethnic minorities and their place within American civic culture. States such as Wisconsin, with its dense concentration of diverse immigrant groups, came under especially harsh fire during the Great War, only to be celebrated 20 years later as microcosms of a pluralist democracy. Although much has been written about this profound transformation of American ethnic identity from the perspective of «official culture», or those governing élites in power, less is known about the role of immigrant communities themselves in this change. Examination of the intertwining of ideology with the social manifestations of cultural performance in one Wisconsin community provides a way to interpret the elusive experience of ordinary people. In the case of two interwar Swiss American cultural performances, a view of ethnic culture emerges that sought to refashion a more inclusive definition of what it meant to be American. In the process of redefining their own identity, third generation Swiss strategically used such performance-based memory work. Their efforts not merely reflected, but shaped a discourse of ethnicity between the wars that became decreasingly antagonistic and gradually more open to ethnic and cultural difference.     

Entrepreneurs,elites and the ruling class: the changing structure of power and wealth in Australian society

In the 1970s and 1980s there was a surge of research concerning power and wealth in Australian society. One line of inquiry was framed in terms of ‘elites’, the other in terms of the ‘ruling class’. This article builds upon both lines of inquiry, exploring the new wave of entrepreneurs and their articulation with the structure of power and wealth. It does so through qualitative interviews with 43 individuals drawn from the Business Review Weekly ‘Rich 200’ list. The article finds that the institutions at the top levels of Australian business and society have become more specialised, diffuse and far-flung than was the case in earlier times. At the very least, it suggests some kind of radical reconfiguration of connections, trust and solidarity between elite groups. It remains a challenge to develop more finely tuned ways of understanding this process in terms of class analysis.     

革命与生意——以辛亥革命时期的上海为例

From 1911 to 1913, in big streets and small lanes, in famous parks and thriving stores, and in tea houses and grand restaurants located in such cities as Shanghai, Nanjing, Beijing and Wuchang, numerous business opportunities were born out of the Revolution of 1911. By using the political giants and military leaders around Shanghai, business firms skillfully dealt with the difficulties of the continually changing political situation and managed to keep their businesses afloat, succeeding in their response to the consumption demands of the public. It can be argued that the Revolution of 1911 played a distinct role in the development of businesses in Shanghai during that time. __________ Translated by Zhong Chen from Shilin 史林 (Historical Review), 2008, (3): 137–150     

Women,Nationalism and the Philippine Revolution

Abstract. Filipino women participated actively in the Philippine Revolution (1896–1902), performing a wide range of tasks essential to sustaining the revolutionary challenge against Spanish and American imperialism. Though largely omitted from mainstream histories of the nationalist revolution, women's involvement has been recorded in several marginalised texts. However, these texts have invariably used a limiting format based on presenting biographies of outstanding women. This article suggests an alternative approach, by situating the history of revolutionary Filipino women within a comparative framework. The article outlines key ideas of feminist writers who have analysed women's participation in nationalist struggles from an international perspective. Drawing on these ideas, some new approaches to women in the Philippine Revolution are suggested.     

The last refuge of a scoundrel: patriotism,militarism and the Russian national idea*

In a nation‐state, where ethnic and territorial borders coincide, patriotism may easily have an exclusivist‐nationalist component, and be used to serve the goals of politicians hoping to mobilise the population for destructive goals. In a multinational state like Russia, the militaristic patriotism that Yeltsin's and Putin's administrations promote can also carry that risk. The Russian state leadership's use of a militaristic patriotism as a means to generate popular support risks unleashing ethnic chauvinism and the military domination of civilian institutions. Such phenomena cast doubt on the prospects for Russia's state‐building process to proceed along liberal democratic lines. Non‐governmental organisations, such as Russia's Committee of Soldiers' Mothers , however, have devised an alternative vision of patriotism, relying on rule of law and the observance of civil rights, and thereby hold out a slim hope for reframing Russian patriotism and building a peaceful democracy.