The Idea of the Social Contract in the History of ‘Agreementism’

One of the recurrent motifs in political thought is the idea of the social contract, according to which a society, a government, or moral principles depend for their existence on agreements between voluntary agents. This association between the social contract and “agreementism” implies that there is nothing about the terminology of contracts that distinguishes it from that of other types of agreements constitutive of normativity. This essay tests this assumption by surveying the terminology of the social contract and by proposing two hypotheses. The first is that all attempts at analysing the idea of the social contract require a formal conceptual frame of reference that is distinguishable from agreementism. The second is that social contract theories can be grouped into four trends, even if the authors of each of these trends are unable to form a coherent body of doctrine. These trends are the Iberian Catholic version of the Counter-Reformation; the Protestant individualist trend of the Enlightenment; the quasi-dialectical trend of the radical Enlightenment; and the contemporary trend of public morality.     

Writing the History of the “Persian Arabs”: The Pre-Islamic Perspective on the “Naṣrids” of al-Ḥīrah

Modern scholarship on Arabs in the pre-Islamic period has focused on Rome's Arab allies—the so-called “Jafnids” or “Ghassānids,” with much less attention paid to Persia's Arab allies, the so-called “Na?rid” or “Lakhmid” dynasty of Arab leaders at al-?īrah in Iraq. This article examines select pre-Islamic sources for the Persian Arabs, showing that even with the meager evidence available to us, and the lack of archaeological material, it is possible to draw a relatively complex portrait of the Persian Arabs. This article situates the Persian Arabs as important figures in some key themes and phenomena of late antiquity, such as the growth of Christian communities, the conflict between Rome and Persia, and the struggle for influence in the Arabian peninsula.     

Writing Veterans’ History: A Conversation on the Twentieth Century

This article is a conversation between five specialists of veterans’ history on the current direction of the field and its importance to the study of war and society. The discussants offer an an overview of current methodologies, definitions and historiographical approaches. Concentrating on the experiences of twentieth-century veterans (particularly after 1945) and using a diverse range of case studies from across the world, this article also asks what connections bound veteran communities together, and how we as historians might conceptualise veterans: as a class, as a collective, or as a far looser grouping of individuals? Finally, this article explores what distinguishes veteranhood after 1945 and the evolving relationship between veterans and the memory of conflict.     

The Discourse of Fengsu in the Song Literati’s Writing: The Example of Boat Racing

The category of “customs,” or fengsu, was important for the literati of the Song dynasty in writing local histories. It covers local practices of festival rituals, weddings and funerals, rites for passage into adulthood, sacrificial rites, and the like. The main purpose behind the literati’s efforts to record fengsu was not to acknowledge local variations but to censor local customs and transform society. This paper looks at these type of texts as a discourse that is meant to promote the correct, standard performance of rites and suppress those deemed improper. It uses boat racing in Song records of fengsu as a case study to illustrate how the imperial spectacle of boat racing in spring was propagated and how the linkage between the death anniversary of Qu Yuan and Duanwu were reinforced. Meanwhile, the popular ritual of boat racing during the summer, which bore distinct violent and shamanic attributes, was strongly criticised. Through these efforts by the literati, a normative discourse of the boat-racing ritual was repeated and reinforced in the fengsu recording.     

Review Article: The Air Force Brats' View of History: Recent Writing and the Royal Air Force, 1918–1960

JAMES S. CORUM. The Luftwaffe: Creating the Operational Air War, 1918–1940. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1997. Pp. ix, 378. $39.95 (US);

CHRISTINA J. M. GOULTER. A Forgotten Offensive: Royal Air Force Coastal Command's Anti-Shipping Campaign, 1941–1945. London: Frank Cass, 1995; dist. Portland, Oreg.: ISBS. Pp. xxii, 366. $47.50 (US);

SEBASTIAN RITCHIE. Industry and Air Power: The Expansion of British Military Aircraft Production, 1935–1941. London: Frank Cass, 1997; dist. Pordand, Oreg.: ISBS. Pp. 304. $49.50 (US), cloth; $22.50 (US), paper;

S. J. BALL. The Bomber in British Strategy: Doctrine, Strategy, and Britain's World Role, 1945–1960. Boulder: Westview Press, 1995. Pp. x, 246. $59.95 (US);

SCOT ROBERTSON. The Development of RAF Strategic Bombing Doctrine, 1919–1939. Westport: Praeger, 1995. Pp. xxix, 187. $55.00 (US);

JOHN GOOCH, ed. Airpower: Theory and Practice. London: Frank Cass, 1995; dist. Portland, Oreg.: ISBS. Pp. 276. $37.00 (US);

MARK K. WELLS. Courage and Air Warfare: The Allied Aircrew Experience in the Second World War. London: Frank Cass, 1995; dist. Portland, Oreg.: ISBS. Pp. xiv, 240. $40.00 (US);

ARTHUR T. HARRIS. Despatch on War Operations: 23rd February, 1942 to 8th May, 1945, introd. Sebastian Cox. London: Frank Cass, 1995; dist. Pordand, Oreg.: ISBS. Pp. liv, 211. $45.00 (US).     

The History of Cartography in Brazil in the 1940s: Jaime Cortesão's Lecture Courses

Abstract

During the Napoleonic Wars the military croquis, or sketch map, played an important role in the spatial management of the various campaigns. Presumably, many of these sketch maps were destroyed or discarded after their immediate use. Those that survive have received little scholarly notice. Attention is drawn in this article to a large and well-documented collection produced during the campaign in Russia in 1812 and subsequently amassed by the Saxon cartographer Ferdinand Heinrich August von Larisch. The operational value of the military croquis is examined and the relationship between cartographic poetics and historical representation considered.     

On the Spacing of Time: On “The Tide of History”

The author discusses aspects of how time appears and is used by the individual and by society. In focus is what the author calls the ideological time scale as it appears in Western society. The concept of the ideological time scale implies systems of strong, ideological signals transferred through time in the human mind from one generation to another. One such signal is the age-old concept of the hero and the symbolism projected around this concept. The paper ends with an admonition to scholars to be aware of and study the kinds of messages transferred through time by this signal system. These messages carry important information about the ways in which society directs itself in the time continuum.     

Does a Filmic Writing of History Exist?

Book reviewed in this article:
Natalie Zemon Davis, Slaves on Screen: Film and Historical Vision