China's Cities: Tradition and change

Mark Elvin and G. William Skinner, eds. The Chinese City Between Two Worlds. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1974. xiii + 458 pp. Tables, maps, notes, character list, and index. $18.75.     

大传统与小传统——白蛇故事的三期型变

民间故事流传主要是口耳相传,由于记忆的局限性,如果不求助于文字文献就很难发现其变化的历史线索。然而在传统社会文字却主要掌握在官方系统,搜集整理民间故事的专业人士被称为稗官,西汉班固《汉书·艺文志》,“小说家者流,盖出于稗官。街谈巷语,道听途说者之所造也”。余嘉锡的《小说家出于稗官说》里认为,稗官是士人,“士传民语”,下情上达,沟通之用。     

Reinterpreting Bretton Woods: International Development and the Neglected Origins of Embedded Liberalism

This article offers a reinterpretation of the origins of the 1944 Bretton Woods Agreements, one that is of particular significance to scholars of international development. Conventional wisdom holds that the Agreements were primarily a product of US–British negotiations between 1942 and 1944, in which little attention was paid to international development issues and the concerns of poorer countries. This article demonstrates that the innovative ‘embedded liberal’ vision of Bretton Woods was in fact first put forward in the context of US–Latin American financial relations in the 1938–42 period, and that this experience influenced the subsequent Bretton Woods negotiations. The analysis highlights that the architects of Bretton Woods did not ignore development issues but rather attempted to pioneer a new model for both North–North and North–South economic relations. If this has been subsequently overlooked by historians, it may be because this latter feature of Bretton Woods was quickly buried by US policy makers in the immediate post‐war years. This historical reinterpretation helps both to explain some important puzzles about the origins of the Bretton Woods Agreements and to shed new light on the place of international development issues in the evolution of the post‐war international economic order.     

Reinterpreting the economic and social history of Spanish South America

Haciendas and ‘Ayllus’: Rural Society in the Bolivian Andes in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. By Herbert S. Klein. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1993. Pp. xvi, 230.

Colombia before Independence: Economy, Society and Politics under Bourbon Rule. By Anthony McFarlane. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Pp. xiv, 399.

Encomienda y encomenderos en el Perú. Estudio social y político de una institución colonial. By Jose De La Puente Brunke. Seville: Excma. Diputación Provincial, 1992. Pp. 536.

Deudas olvidadas. Instrumentos de crédito en la economía colonial peruana 1750–1820. By Alfonso W. Quiroz. Lima: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 1993. Pp. 233.

Coercion and Market: Silver Mining in Colonial Potosí, 1692–1826. By Enrique Tandeter. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1993. Pp. xiv, 332.     

Working with Tradition: Towards a Partnership Model of Fieldwork

This paper explores the interaction between fieldworker and “tradition bearer” over an extended period of time, in the context of an ethnographic study of singing traditions in the southern Pennines of England. Using examples, it examines the negative as well as the positive aspects of the exchange, with particular emphasis on mutuality and reciprocity. It charts the development of key relationships and the ways in which they have come to maturity and achieved equilibrium. Careful thought is given to the role of the fieldworker in respect of active/passive, interventionist/non-interventionist stances. Aspects of performance, commercialisation, networking, promotion, and media relations are discussed. Following a consideration of ethical and moral issues, including exploitation and advocacy, the paper suggests a working model of partnership as a way forward for future productive field-based research into traditional expressive arts.     

History and Tradition

English-speaking soldiers of the Great War created a large ‘trench press’, a body of periodicals by, for, and about their experiences. They contain a wealth of folkloric material and indications of its significance and functions. While acknowledging the constraints involved in retrieving once-living traditions from the fragmentary survival of mostly makeshift periodicals, this article describes and discusses the processes involved in the creation and development of an especially well-defined folk culture in unprecedented and extreme circumstances. While some elements of soldier folklore, especially song, verse, and language, have been the subject of usually discrete interest by folklorists, this is the first attempt to understand a range of folkloric practice and expression in the context of a particular set of combat circumstances.     

Judgment,Tradition and Reason: A Response

Abstract

The author of The Desire of the Nations (DN) and The Ways of Judgment (WJ) responds to the criticisms and questions of the eight other contributors, defending his concept of government-as-judgment and exploring questions about international law and contemporary pluralism.     

Gender,Technology and Local Culture: Tradition and transition in a Swedish municipality

The article is concerned with the gendering of technology, place and time and the interaction between them. The Swedish community of Lindesberg which changed its local policy towards industry and commerce in the 1980s is presented as a case-study. Before the changes, the local policy was restricted to traditionally male jobs; afterwards, it included jobs for women such as 'distance-working' or telecommuting opportunities. The expansion of the local policy is explained by the population's request for work opportunities for women also, although the local image is still very masculine. The old jobs were considered to be traditional but technically qualified jobs. The new jobs were described by the local authorities as new but technically qualified jobs. The first judgement was supported 'by everyone' while the latter was opposed 'by everyone'. The failure to keep the image of technically qualified work connected to the new opportunities for distance-working is explained by the gender labelling of the new work tasks. As they were given to women, and traditionally women are by definition lacking in technical competence, it was not possible to give the work tasks a label of technology and qualification.     

The Systematisation of Tradition: Maori Culture as a Strategic Resource

In this article I discuss the systematisation of Maori tradition in New Zealand during the 1970s and 1980s. More particularly, my focus is on the politicisation and rationalisation of Maori tradition within the New Zealand state, these processes occurring partly in response to calls by Maori leaders for a dismantling of colonial and monocultural structures in New Zealand and reactive objectifications of Maori tradition which challenged the legitimacy of the post-colonial state administration. I begin with a consideration of the main objectives towards which the systematisation of tradition has been directed over the past two decades, and I examine the way in which priorities have shifted in response to reactive politicisations of ethnic identity. I then draw upon a number of specific examples to illustrate the ethnicisation and rationalisation of Maori tradition as aspects of the systematisation process within the New Zealand state.     

Ribbon Pulls in Wedding Cakes: Tracing a New Orleans Tradition

The ritual of cutting the wedding cake at weddings in the New Orleans area is preceded by another ritual tradition: unmarried female friends of the bride each “pull a ribbon,” to which a silver charm or “favour” is attached, from the cake. Charms can include a ring, a heart, a thimble, a button, a horseshoe, and a clover, each with a traditional meaning. An exploration of the possible derivations and routes of diffusion of this custom reveal that it has much more complex origins and meanings than is commonly assumed by most New Orleanians.