Aristotelian Works in Seventeenth-century China

Between 1623 and 1640, Jesuits in China published nine Aristotelian works in the domains of logics, natural philosophy and ethics. Some forty years later, under the Qing dynasty, Ferdinand Verbiest integrated those previous works into a unified and comprehensive philosophical handbook, which he presented to the Kangxi emperor. We shall present here the philosophical background of this translation project, analyze the main features of those Aristotelian works and reflect on their degree of compatibility with Chinese culture.     

Seventeenth-century Carpentry in Essex

Abstract

It is here argued that there was a decline in the standards of carpentry in the early 17th century. From the six buildings discussed, there is evidence of confusion over the main structural framework and in the minor details. The increasing use of iron bolts and brackets is another feature of this decline.     

Seventeenth-century legal fictions: the case of John Perry

This essay discusses the role of narrative in the transmission of legal “truth” in the early modern period, taking as its focus the John Perry murder case of 1660. Perry, a servant, confessed to and was convicted of the murder of his missing master, William Harrison, in the village of Campden in Gloucestershire. Two years after Perry’s execution, however, Harrison reappeared, offering in explanation of his absence a lurid and incredible account of his kidnap and transport to the slave markets of Turkey. In the Perry case complex and unstable narratives, with debts to a range of literary genres, served to obscure the central question of a missing body. This narrativisation of circumstance gained further momentum once the affair began to circulate in textual form, when, I will contend, it became not only a legal story but a way of telling stories about the law. In particular, the case raises questions of methodology: where can we, as scholars, locate truth within the ambiguities of law in this period, and is that truth really of value in our consideration of early modern legal and literary texts?     

Connected feminists: foregrounding the interpersonal in connective action

New social movement theories have been developed to address the organisational structures of activism in the age of digital platforms, but have tended to focus on structural questions rather than interpersonal dynamics. This paper engages with Bennett and Segerberg’s theory of connective action but uses a feminist lens to foreground the interpersonal dynamics between digitally equipped activists to develop a uniquely feminist account of connective action. It draws on Jo Freeman’s ‘tyranny of structurelessness’ to illustrate how informal organisation pervades new forms of connective action and continues to hamper the feminist movement. However, it also introduces and identifies the ‘feminist manager’ as an attempt to address the problematic practices of structurelessness and informality, and paves the way for consciously recognising the organisational structures required to advance the movement beyond consciousness-raising initiatives.     

Seventeenth-century Pottery from Ash,Surrey

Abstract

About 2,000 sherds, mainly in white fabric, were found on a site at Ash which was one of several producing similar wares on the West Surrey and Hampshire borders. Some of the sherds were medieval, but the remainder were 17th century and are analysed in an attempt to assess the forms and characteristics of the post-medieval pottery made at Ash. Documentary evidence discloses the presence of potters in Ash in the 17th and 18th centuries, although there is no direct link with the site, and also indicates possible sources for the potters’ clay.     

A Seventeenth-century Boat found in London

Abstract

A flat-bottomed barge carrying a cargo of bricks was excavated where it had sunk on the bed of the Thames off Blackfriars in London. Details of the boat’s construction were recovered, and associated finds suggested a date in the third quarter of the 17th century, perhaps connected with intensive rebuilding activity after the Great Fire of London in 1666.     

Ricardo and his disciples: Orthodoxy and socialism

The Scottish historical novelist, John Galt assumed that the origins of law rested on the anarchistic and primitive nature of human beings, who formed a society on a contractual basis out of the need for security. Although generally agreeing with enlightenment thinkers on the formation of society, law and human nature a divergence in Galt's thought appeared in the secular treatment of crimes. Adhering to prevalent Christian notions about sin and crime, Galt rejected a clear distinction between the two, and between morality and law, such as were upheld by such enlightenment figures as Cesare Beccaria. Such a clear distinction failed in its analysis of the phenomena. He was at one with Enlightenment-influenced thought in its criticism of cruel punishments and advocated a humanitarian approach to the criminal, but he also emphasised education in Christian morality as the most appropriate means of deterrence. This divergence from more radical enlightenment views sprang from his lack of confidence in the capacities of human reason. Nevertheless, a fundamentally humanist philosophy and a belief in the importance of learning linked his conservatism with an enlightenment belief in human progress.     

Artists and policy-making: the English case

The 1980 UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist emphasised the importance of including artists in the policy-making process. However, 30 years later, evidence suggests that artists often have only marginal involvement in the policy-making of UNESCO member states. This paper explores how visual artists in England relate to arts policy-making. An overview is provided of how artists fared in arts policy during the 50 years following the creation of the Arts Council of Great Britain (ACGB) in 1946. A more detailed account is then given of how visual artists featured in the policy-making of Arts Council England (ACE) and the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) during the period of the New Labour government, 1997–2010. The conclusion is drawn that, despite an official rhetoric which claimed artists occupied a priority position within English arts policy during this period, in reality artists continued to lack visibility and influence.     

Cannibalism & politics: The English Renaissance revisited

This article explores how anthropological approaches to Anglo-Native American exchanges in the 16th and 17th centuries – thinking through and beyond terms like ‘cannibal’ – can draw attention to different facets of encounter and shed light on the influence of indigeneity on English heritage. Using the Englishman Anthony Knivet’s travels to Brazil in the 1590s as a case study, what emerges is the importance of interdisciplinary approaches which acknowledge the complicated and at times surprising interactions between representations and lived experience, between rituals and their appropriations. Further, acknowledging the influence of indigenous American people and artefacts on English history has important implications for addressing the legacy of imperialism in cultural institutions, opening up new possibilities for collaboration, display and reconciliation.     

Qualified Toleration: Bermuda and the English Revolution

Central to both the causes and development of the English revolution was the demand for reformation of the Church of England. The question of what shape this reform should take, however, divided English men and women. Debates over the further reformation of the Church of England were also complicated by the emergence of increasingly vocal and powerfully‐placed calls for freedom of religion, ranging from a limited toleration for a certain few to a broader liberty of conscience for all. This article looks at the debate surrounding liberty of conscience during the English revolution in 1644–5, but from a fresh angle: examining the context and rationale for the parliamentary ordered religious settlement of the English Atlantic colony of Bermuda in October of 1645. Integrating the fortunes of this Atlantic colony into the history of the English revolution reconfigures our understanding and analysis of revolutionary religion and politics.