Introduction

Aspects of nature veneration in the European Christian tradition are reflected in legends associated with San Dominico Abate, a 10th century precursor of Saint Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecologists. An offering of snakes each May in honor of San Dominico at Cocullo, Italy, is interpreted as a Christianized continuation of pagan nature veneration. Other examples of nature veneration rooted in European Christianity are described, such as the involvement of animals and plants in revelations of sacred places as well as the relationship between natural features and the sanctity of religious pilgrimage sites.     

Pilgrimage,devotional practices and the consumption of sacred places in ancient Egypt and contemporary Syria

Pilgrimages are often messy affairs, not only leaving all sorts of material detritus behind, but also in many cases severely damaging or even destroying the sites that are visited as part of journeys to a sacred place. As such, this immensely popular religious tradition constitutes a social practice that is deeply tied to the landscapes and places that are considered to be holy and thus principally worthy of preservation (at least by many definitions of heritage), but which also in many cases ultimately consumes them over time, sometimes in very direct ways that immediately affect their physical state. This paper explores the contemporary and historical dimensions of this paradox, and considers the wider implications of seemingly destructive uses of sacred space by investigating the social and religious significance of so-called ‘pilgrims’ gouges’ observable at numerous pilgrimage sites in the Eastern Mediterranean. It, thereby, sheds light on the connections between the religious experience of pilgrimage and the material consumption of sacred places by juxtaposing cases from contemporary Islamic Syria and ancient Egypt, providing a long-term perspective on the use and consumption of sacred places. Lastly, it discusses the potential ramifications of the gouges for current approaches to heritage management and conservation.     

Church-in-a-box: making space sacred in a non-traditional setting

ABSTRACT

How are non-traditional sacred spaces experienced and sacralized? Non-traditional sacred sites offer a unique and useful perspective for exploring notions of sacralization, the process of making space sacred. This paper explores sacralization through an investigation of Unity of Fredericksburg, a non-traditional spiritual community that meets in an executive office building, using in-depth interviews with church leaders and members. These interview findings help shed light on how the process of sacralization occurs and suggest that it is the collective, emotional engagement with space that makes it sacred. Non-traditional houses of worship, though not imbued with conventional notions of “sacredness”, serve as functionally sacred for believers and the transiency of their sacred qualities provides a useful foundation for geographers of religion to explore how the sacred is made and experienced.     

Topomystica: Investigation into the Concept of Mystic Place

Human experience of place can be conceived of as both an "objective reality" and a "lived experience." A more spiritual view of the earth has been advocated by some geographers, but relatively little attention has been given to mystic place per se. This paper begins with a discussion of place, mysticism, and genius loci, or the spirit of place, in an attempt to define mystic place within a cultural context. The term "topomystica" is proposed to differentiate this concept from the traditional discourse on sacred space. A typology is then developed in an attempt to classify the major characteristics of topomystica: topos, morphology, dialecticism, chronology, syncretism, naturopathy, and gestalt are each identified. Finally, a case study of Mystic Spring, in Victoria, British Columbia, is undertaken to explore topomystica more closely. Evidence suggests that although supernatural power is superimposed on certain places in the landscape by human beings in a variety of cultures, the research thus far into sacred space does not adequately address this idea, because it fails to fully explore mysticism in a geographical context.     

传统村落神圣空间形态、当代价值及其研究范式再认识

神圣空间是中国传统村落重要的空间形态，但理论界对神圣空间时有“存续论”和“废弃论”的学术争议，对其内涵、类型、流动性发展趋势以及新的研究范式也缺乏深入解读，这对人们深入认知传统村落神圣空间带来了困惑和迷茫。通过文献梳理，认为：神圣空间的内涵是“空间+意义”的综合。在传统村落中空间形态有两类，一是具有明显可观察性的宗教信仰性神圣空间，二是一切不可让渡或不可化约的人文意义的神圣空间。在内容研究方面，学术界对第一类型的神圣空间研究着墨较多，但研究特点表现在对神圣空间“本身”进行阐释。对第二类型神圣空间建构性的解读属于新兴研究类型，研究主要将传统村落神圣空间看作是社会建构的过程和动态性实践的产物。在流动性视角下，学术界更注重对传统村落神圣空间与流动性互动产生的社会经济、文化和环境之间建构和生产的研究，认为“神圣空间作为文本”更符合新的社会事实及其推动下的研究议题。不同认知范式具有差异性，相互补充是人们整体认知传统村落神圣空间的基础，也对乡村振兴实践中传统村落文化的整理、挖掘以及塑造社会经济发展具有重要指引。     

Rockfort Temple at Tiruchirapalli,India: Conservation of a Sacred Landscape

Sacred sites in India are subject to many development pressures. Unlike heritage monuments, cultural and historic landscapes have not been the focus of institutional protection and preservation efforts. Using Rockfort Temple complex at Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, as a case study, we propose that an integrated conservation approach be based upon restoring the natural and spatial archetypes that constitute the landscape vocabulary. A group of excavated and structural temples are located on a hill on the banks of the river Kaveri surrounded by a medieval fort that became the nucleus of urban growth over time. Overwhelming growth of commerce within the last half century has resulted in many problems such as traffic congestion, confusing circulation, and visual chaos, which in turn have led to the loss of sanctity. The structure of the pilgrim landscape constituted by circumambulatory paths, tanks and groves, shrines and temples can be clarified and made legible by minor design interventions such as restoring historic buildings, reviving the holy tanks, planting sacred trees, and building rest pavilions along the pilgrim path.     

ESPACE SOCIAL COMMUNAUTAIRE ET VIRTUEL: CONTINUITÉS ET DISCONTINUITÉS

Pour appréhender l'espace électronique qui se construit sur Internet et ses liens avec l'espace géographique, nous avons élaboré une typologie des pages Web et des indicateurs permettant de saisir l'insertion de divers sites dans un espace social et électronique. II appert que la relation entre l'espace électronique régional (pages Web), et l'espace social et territorial de la collectivité qui le soutient est complexe et ambigu. À travers les sites Web, les communautés projettent des identités et des projets de développement, ce qui suggère des questions fondamentales à propos du fondement géographique du lien social.
In order to better understand the electronic spaces that are being created on the Internet, along with their relationship to actual (social) geography, the authors propose a typology of web pages and indicators that will help locate various sites in social and electronic space. The relationship between the electronic space in the regions (represented through web pages) and the social and territorial space of the community which supports these pages appears complex and ambiguous. Through their web pages, communities project identities and developmental aspirations, and this raises various questions in relation to the spatial basis of social relationships.     

European cultural diplomacy: diaspora relations with Kazakhstan

Abstract

Cultural diplomacy using diasporic communities as facilitators of interaction between states has long been important. This article suggests a typology of networks of communication derived from a case study of long-established diasporas living in post-independence Kazakhstan and their relationship with their European ‘homelands’. The typology juxtaposes the official stance of homeland governments expressed in formal and legal provisions with the lived experience of the diaspora communities. The study highlights the benefits of developing vibrant ‘valued’ networks of communication embracing both local diasporas and homeland embassies and agencies. In such cases, diplomatic benefits accrue to the homeland and local communities are empowered. Similarly, failing to capitalise on positive sentiment with some infrastructural support may leave an ‘expressive’ network as one of neglected potential.     

‘God was with me everywhere’: women’s embodied practices and everyday experiences of sacred space in Czechia

In this paper, we approach religion and spirituality through the analytic lens of the everyday and examine how ordinary women make sacred space through their embodied, emotional, and spatially varying practices. Our research is grounded in Czechia where about 80% of inhabitants do not declare any religious affiliation and ‘new’ religions are on the rise. We deploy auto-photography as a method that invites participants’ own visual representations and interpretative narrations of their quotidian experiences. Thirty-eight Christian, Buddhist, and non-religious women participated in this study in 2016. Our analysis of photographs and interviews shows that our participants turn places that are not primarily associated with religion or spirituality (such as a kitchen sink or a bus stop) into sacred or spiritual places while at the same time integrate officially sacred spaces (such as churches and meditation centers) into their daily lives through social activities. Thus, we argue that a mutually transformative process is taking place in contemporary Czechia. In this process, religiously affiliated and non-affiliated women alike transform everyday spaces into sacred sites through their embodied and emotional practices that seek calmness, peace, and transcendence. At the same time, women who participate in organized religions remake the sacrality of officially sacred sites through their emphasis on social connections and feelings of communal belonging and shared identity. Our findings underscore that sacred space is not fixed in any one location and its production involves the continual emotional and material investment by ordinary women.     

Path-development trajectories and barriers perceived by stakeholders in two Central European less developed regions: narrow or broad choice?

This paper aims at the comprehension of feasible development trajectories conceptualized within the new path-development model in the case of two less developed regions in Central Europe (CE). The main new element of this paper comprises the examination of the perception of key barriers and mechanisms hindering particular evolutionary trajectories by regional stakeholders and their comparison with those conceptualized in the literature. Although conceptual characteristics of prevailing path types in different regional innovation systems do exist, empirical verification from less developed regions such as those in CE is insufficient. On the basis of interviews with regional stakeholders, a typology of barriers for pathways conceptualized to date was elaborated from a CE perspective. Our study showed that the feasibility of a more radical path is hindered by a wide range of barriers operating at different levels. The elaborated typology of barriers for various path-development trajectories outlined the main hindrances constraining key regional actors, linkages and institutions. Given the general weakness of the overall RIS, path-extension and path-modernization trajectories are bound to be the most realistic options for this type of less developed regions. Our study revealed existing regional dynamics as built predominately upon incremental changes within rooted but prospective industrial branches.     

A Natural-Resource Regionalization of the USSR

A regionalization of natural resources is treated as a particular case of economic regionalization, in the sense that it makes an economic interpretation of the physical base of an area from the point of view of its capacity to generate an economic region of appropriate rank. The resource regionalization is based on two particular regionalizations of bioclimatic and mineral resources, yielding a set of 86 regions that combine both types of resources. A typology of resource regions distinguishes seven basic types of regions in which bioclimatic resources are dominant and four basic types in which mineral resources are dominant. Combinations of bioclimatic and mineral resources yield 24 groups of integral resource regions.     

Reviews

Abstract

The existence of sacred places is a widespread phenomenon throughout Palestine, one which is reflected in various types of local sites, such as water sources, graves, caves, trees and constructed shrines (maqams). In Islamic Palestine, the construction of maqams originated with the Fatimid (a Shiite group), in order to memorialise and 'greet' distinguished figures descended from the family of the prophet Muhammad. Thereafter, the Sunni faith actively adopted this concept and dedicated more than 2,500 sites to prophets, holy people, the righteous and martyrs. The sacred place of Sheikh Shihab ed-Din, like several hundred other Islamic maqams throughout Mandate Palestine, is located on top of a natural hill commanding a panoramic view. This place has held religious importance during the Byzantine and Ayyubid-Mamluk periods, right through to the present day. This paper studies the construction of the maqam as well as its related archaeological remains. It is based on a field study, a survey of the literature, and archaeological explorations conducted during a brief excavation season.     

Some Thoughts on the Subject of Historical Geography

A geographical historical geography, concerned with the history of development of the landscape, is distinguished from the historian's historical geography, dealing with the geography of countries and regions in the past and the history of development of cities and transport routes. The aim of the geographer's approach to historical geography is to characterize changes in the natural environment during historical times, to map landscapes from the point of view of their evolution and to classify and regionalize them on the basis of genetic principles. For this purpose, historical geography is to be distinguished from paleogeography, which should be limited to evolution of the landscape in prehistoric times.     

民间信仰空间建构与认同边界:广东惠州巽寮湾案例

基于广东惠州巽寮天后宫("大妈")与凤池岛妈祖庙("小妈")案例比较,借助田野调查、半结构式访谈以及非参与式观察法,探讨在资本主导的滨海旅游开发背景下,妈祖信仰空间建构与认同边界重构过程。研究发现,"大妈"与"小妈"妈祖信仰空间建构的逻辑路径和过程不同。"大妈"按照资本塑造、权力的集中化与合法化以及宗教话语标准化的逻辑路径,建构为多元认同的开放性空间。"小妈"由于资本的"缺场",主要通过空间权力的自我赋予与妈祖崇拜话语的地方化来凸显与强化"我者"信仰空间的认同,从而建构为"我者"闭合性空间。在民间信仰空间建构和认同边界重构过程中,资本起到了重要作用。     

Turkish–Dutch mosques and the formation of moral subjects

This article explores how mosque spaces become everyday sites of ethno-religious subjectivation for immigrants and citizens originating from Turkey in the Netherlands. I argue that the symbolic and material constructions of mosques as simultaneously moral and moralizing spaces undergird the production of ethno-religious subjectivities through mosque-centered everyday practices. The articulation of Muslimness to Turkishness at mosques in culturally specific and gendered ways is crucial for the formation of a particular modality of the Turkish–Dutch self as moral subject. The ensuing incorporation of practices and activities that are deemed ‘secular,’ i.e. ‘cultural’ or ‘recreational’ to mosque services engenders a creative tension between the sacred and profane conceptions of mosque space. Mosque administrators and their congregations concur that recreational activities and quotidian accessibility to mosques are essential to the long term survival of Turkish–Dutch alterity, for mosques are spaces where children and youth are exposed to the performances of Turkish-Islamic morality and subjected to collective social control. However, the diversification of mosque services does not always sit comfortably with the meaning and use of mosques as sacred sites proper within a secularized framework. A creative tension between mosques as serene and pure spaces of the sacred and mosques as impure and immoral spaces of the everyday arises, as a result.     

关于坚持与发展唯物史观的几点思考--读《〈政治经济学批判〉序言》

马克思<〈政治经济学批判〉序言>所集中表述的唯物史观基本原理,主要得之于对资本主义经济制度的研究.当代资本主义的重大发展变化,为唯物史观的发展提供了巨大的理论空间;社会经济形态演进的几个时代,大体是西欧的历史实际,将其应用于不同地区和国家历史的研究,同样为唯物史观的发展提供了理论空间;"经验的事实"和"历史环境条件",既决定了在生产力发展水平没有重大不同前提下不同地区和国家社会经济形态的不同存在,又对生产力的发展具有决定性的影响.     

The transnational world of Chinese entrepreneurs in Chicago, 1870s to 1940s: New sources and perspectives on southern Chinese emigration

This article contributes to an ongoing dialogue on the causes of migration and emigration and the relationship between migrants/emigrants and their homelands by investigating historical materials dealing with the Chinese in Chicago from 1870s to 1940s. It shows that patterns of Chinese migration/emigration overseas have endured for a long period, from pre-Qing times to today’s global capitalist expansionism. The key argument is that from the very beginning of these patterns, it has been trans-local and transnational connections that have acted as primary vehicles facilitating survival in the new land. While adjusting their lives in new environments, migrants and emigrants have made conscious efforts to maintain and renew socioeconomic and emotional ties with their homelands, thus creating transnational ethnic experiences.