Globalization and the Power of Indeterminate Meaning: Witchcraft and Spirit Cults in Africa and East Asia

The obsession with witchcraft in many parts of present-day Africa is not to be viewed as some sort of traditional residue. On the contrary, it is especially present in the more modern spheres of society. In a comparative, global perspective, this linking of modernity and witchcraft is not particular to Africa: in other parts of our globalized world, modern developments coincide with a proliferation of what the Comaroffs (forthcoming) call ‘the economies of the occult’. In this article, representations in South and West Cameroon about ekong, supposedly a novel form of witchcraft explicitly associated with modern forms of wealth, are compared to Weller's study of the upsurge of spirit cults in Taiwan, during the recent economic boom of this ‘Asian tiger’. The power of such discourses on occult forces is that they relate people's fascination with the open-endedness of global flows to the search for fixed orientation points and identities. Both witchcraft and spirit cults exhibit a surprising capacity for combining the local and the global. Both also have specific implications for the ways in which people try to deal with modernity's challenge.     

Apocalypse and the Spirit of Revolution

Abstract

The article identifies some typical traits of apocalyptical thinking by analysing the approach of Martin Luther and Thomas Müntzer to apocalyptical texts. They both applied apocalyptical perspectives on historical events but they had conflicting views concerning its social and political consequences. The author asks whether the Reformation may be called an apocalypti-cal movement and why the Reformers are split on the question of political revolt. After studying the conflict between Müntzer and Luther in some detail, he proceeds to Engels’ analysis of Müntzer in the aftermath of the revolution in 1848, seeking an answer to the following question: How and to what extent have the biblical apocalypse and apocalyptical movements contributed to the formation of Marxist theory of revolutions?     

白由祥 我的精神我的山

<正>山有几种:名山大川是为名山,黄山、华山是也;佛道之山是为仙山,峨眉、武当是也;藏地雪山是为神山,梅里、冈仁波齐是也。太行山则属于是中国的精神之山。它耸立于山西、河北、河南之间,横枕华夏,古老雄伟,人文厚积,从《愚公移山》到曹操的《苦寒行.北上太行山》,从民间传说到艰难惨烈的抗日战争,从林州的红旗渠到郭亮的绝     

抗战史学与民族精神——作为抗战文化的史学及其历史贡献

作为抗战文化的重要组成部分,抗战时期的中国史学受爱国主义、民族主义思潮的强烈影响,在培育国民的民族意识、弘扬民族抗战精神等方面为民族抗战事业做出了杰出贡献;尽管受到客观条件的限制,抗战史学依然取得很高的学术成就;当然由于治史目的存在一定的偏颇,其局限性也无庸讳言。     

“出郭九行”与“诗史”精神

出郭九行”是对清初文学家魏禧及其兄魏际瑞九首叙事诗的总称。这组诗以沉痛的笔调描述了顺治末年百姓在官兵掳掠、盗贼横行之下的惨痛生活,是对杜甫“诗史”精神的践履;在艺术手法上,也吸收了杜甫叙事诗的艺术精华,并予以活用,体现出杜诗在清初诗坛的典范意义。     

Plant Size and Clustering of Manufacturing Activity

Although a growing number of studies emphasize the advantages small firms gain by co-locating in space, there is little empirical work that directly examines clustering trends by firm size. This paper presents an empirical analysis of the isolated effects of size on clustering patterns of producers in a major manufacturing state in the southeast United States. Recent developments in point process modeling allow us to control for the critical fact that economic activity is, in general, concentrated in space. Our findings suggest that the relationship between establishment size and clustering in North Carolina is roughly characterized by an inverted u-shape, that is, clustering increases up to some size threshold and then decreases again.     

浅论文人画之精神

100多年来,文人画在绘画史的不同思潮中发展成长,虽历尽艰辛,但其精神却积极向上。当下文人画在形式上的泛滥显示出对其精神本质的误读。本文对文人画这一历史现象和思想根源进行了重新审视与客观分析,表述了对当下文人画研究与发展的见解。     

论六朝文化精神

本文将六朝文化精神概括为六个方面：即抽象的思辨能力,崛起的个体意识,崇尚精神的自由,名士的佯狂傲世,返归自然的气质,高雅的审美情趣。并在哲学、宗教、历史、文学、艺术、美学等层面上揭示六朝人物的个性品格和精神风貌,以便从总体上把握六朝文化精神的深刻内涵。     

原始崇拜体系与中国文化精神的起点

原始崇拜体系的形成是人类精神世界形成的标志。在中国原始崇拜体系的形成中,自然崇拜、灵魂崇拜以及祖先崇拜占据着主导地位。随着文明的进展,又演化为天、地、祖先崇拜。这直接影响了中国文化精神的构建。     

The Bungalow Spirit

During the first two decades of the 20th century the home-and-builder related literature promoted the American bungalow in terms of a unique “Bungalow Spirit.” This spirit consisted of structural and design simplicity, efficient interior layout, adaptability and harmony with out-of-doors. The bungalow was perceived and promoted as a product of India while developing as a popular form of housing primarily in Southern California. Writers characterized the genuine American bungalow as endowed with a distinguishing set of architectural traits. It was essentially a low-slung structure with numerous windows, large porch, natural or low cost materials, projecting roof and exposed support brackets.     

民族精神与民族意识

本文对民族精神和民族意识的异同及关系作了辨析。文章认为．民族精神和民族意识是互有联系但内涵不同的两个概念。民族意识是民族精神的一个局部构成,它赋予民族精神以民族的属性,同时也是民族精神中民族活力、社会信念的源泉和民族凝聚力的基本要素;但民族精神的正面约束力又对民族意识作了积极的性质限定。     

战后日本文化演进与大冈小说精神

尽管就理论意义而言,文学当归属在文化之列;然二者之间的默契,却委实不敢恭维。既有的文学理论与批评实践中,小视、甚至无视文化的存在与作用的偏颇,可以说是显而易见的,在讨论文学风格的档案里,我     

刘知白与贵州绘画的野逸精神

贵州在中国历史文化的中心与边缘这个二元格局中居于边缘地位,为贵州绘画中的野逸精神奠定了文化地理学基础。刘知白上承宋元绘画,下接明清绘画,主要承接的就是宋代美学最高诉求的逸格精神和逸笔语言,成为贵州地域艺术中野逸精神的最高代表,他一生的绘画艺术总体上经历了清逸、野逸到超逸三种境界。     

刍议毛泽东建党精神与中华民族精神

毛泽东建党学说和建党理论,是马克思主义建党理论与中国实践和中国传统文化相结合的产物。毛泽东建党思想所折射出的建党精神,体现了中华民族生生不息与长盛不衰的民族精神。研究毛泽东建党精神与中华民族精神的关联,对于加强现阶段党的建设以及弘扬伟大的民族精神具有重要的现实意义。     

探寻和谐社会的精神基础--构建社会主义和谐社会中民族文化的建设与发展

本文通过阐述民族文化与构建社会主义和谐社会的关系,提出了构建社会主义和谐社会,从文化角度看,就是要努力形成各民族文化相互影响、相互补充、共存共荣的生动局面,实现中华民族文化的同一性的观点．面对社会变革所带来的挑战和机遇,民族文化的建设与发展应注意。为民族文化确立科学的指导原则和主体精神;建立相对独立而又完整的民族文化价值体系;提高认识,加强领导,统一规划,形成合力;制定少数民族文化可持续发展战略．     

新生活运动和国民精神总动员论析

新生活运动与国民精神总动员是本世纪３０年代国民党发动的两个重要的思想统一与“精神建设”运动,两者一脉相承。蒋介石自称新生活运动是“救亡图存复兴民族之基本的革命运动”,~①国民精神总动员是“抗战的最大武器”,是“抗战民族的精神堡垒”。~②确实,两个运动都有动员民众抗战的意图,但它们又都有加强思想控制、为国民党一党专制服务的趋向。同时,两个运动无论在其基本的思路上,抑或是其发动、推展的方式、方法上,都存在着诸多弊病,这些也限制了两个运动的抗战动员目的的实现。本文试图从两个运动的发动背景、基本思路、实际…     

论培育弘扬民族精神与文化选择

培育和弘扬民族精神是实现全面建设小康社会,彻底实现各民族共同繁荣和中华民族伟大复兴的重要的前提条件。培育和弘扬民族精神与民族的化选择紧密联系在一起,对中国各民族精神整合与扬弃,是培育和弘扬中华民族精神的基础性工作。我们培育和弘扬满族精神,对满族精神化遗产既不能全盘肯定,也不能一概否定,对那些不符合时代发展要求,阻碍民族发展繁荣的精神化遗产必须屏弃,极力提高满族成员的精神境界,为中华民族精神境界的提高做出贡献。