Remembering the 1960s: popular music and memory in Europe

Following the increasing attention paid to popular music in heritage discourses, this article explores how the popular music culture from the 1960s is remembered in Europe. I discuss the role of heritage organizations, media and the cultural policy of the EU in the construction of a popular music heritage of this period. Furthermore, I examine the ways in which attachments to local, national and European identities are negotiated. To this end, I draw upon interviews with representatives of museums, websites and archives. The article reveals a recurring tension between transnational and local experiences of the 1960s. It is found that media and heritage institutions like museums and archives predominantly have a national and local orientation, although narratives with a European vantage point are now emerging on the internet.     

Spirit knows: materiality,memory and the recovery of Spiritualist places and practices in Stoke-on-Trent

Abstract

Much has been written about constructing memories of place, yet few speak of the difficulties in dealing with lost, partial and fragmented histories of place. We argue that behind the idea of ‘memory of place’ is an assumption that these memories are recoverable and can build a sense of place. Our research has led us to assume the opposite: not just that the fragments of history cannot build a complete memory of place, but that this understanding of memory and place is itself skewed by its reliance on materiality. This paper stems from a project that explores the place of spirituality in everyday life through insights from Spiritualist churches and their congregations. Whilst evidence of Spiritualist locations can be partially obtained through documentary records, a key challenge has been in understanding practices in the context of Spiritualism’s disassociation with materiality and the centrality of Spirit. The paper concludes that retracing Spiritualism’s past, and capturing its contemporary spiritual practices, uncovers a ‘memory of place’ that is not only in constant transience, but that can only be known through Spirit.     

Historic preservation in Nazi Germany: place, memory, and nationalism

While numerous studies have examined the post-war contestation surrounding commemorative sites associated with the legacy of Nazi Germany, relatively little attention has been dedicated to the ways in which the Nazi regime itself sought to create places of memory congruent with the movement's political and cultural goals. Indeed, party leaders sponsored a variety of disparate, and at times contradictory, programs to re-orientate some of Germany's most prominent historic places to better serve the needs of the regime. To expand our understanding of this process, this article examines the practice and rhetoric of historic preservation in Bavaria during the Nazi period with a focus on the preservationist program sponsored by Bavarian President Ludwig Siebert. Nazi propaganda promised to rejuvenate and protect Germany's architectural heritage for the public good, but the regime's actual priorities and policies led to widespread confiscation, damage, and eventually destruction.     

Remembering the city: translocality and the senses

This article explores how the postcolonial cities of Kolkata and London are remembered across space and time through the translocal memories of a religious minority, followers of the Hindu reform sect, known as the Brahmo Samaj. London Brahmos represent a miniscule translocal community, historically located in the urban culture of Kolkata and yet with a long tradition of travel and migration inside and outside India. Drawing on interviews with London Brahmos, who migrated to London from Kolkata from the 1950s onwards, the article focuses on the role of urban memory as a translocal and sensory practice, infused with enchantment. I start by considering how London and Kolkata are connected through translocal memories of mobility and dwelling. I then move on to contrast sensuous and sterile memories, which emplace translocal urban imaginaries of Kolkata and London and examine the limits of translocality to connect cities and lives through mapping a variety of situated urban sensescapes.     

The wartime Slovak state: a case study in the relationship between ethnic nationalism and authoritarian patterns of governance

This is a case study of the clerical‐nationalist Slovak state established under Nazi protection during World War II. As the only example of Slovak political independence prior to the break‐up of Czechoslovakia in 1993, nationalist interpretations of its legacy have helped shape the Slovak discourse on post‐communist state‐ and nation‐building. To explore the impact of the Slovak state on the development of Slovak nationalism, this article examines how the ideology of the Slovak state structured the relationship between the individual, state and nation; the roots of the regime's ideology; and the ramifications of this ideology for governance during the period of statehood. Through this exploration, I hope both to contribute to a fuller understanding of the relationship between ethnic nationalism and authoritarian patterns of governance and to lay the groundwork for further study of the sources of post‐communist Slovak political culture.     

Proclaiming place: Towards a geography of place name pronunciation

This paper provides a critical review of recent geographical scholarship on place naming and contends that aural aspects of naming have yet to be fully worked into the research agenda. To begin to address this gap in the literature, we consider pronunciation to be an important element of the cultural politics of place naming within post-colonial societies. In asserting links between speaking and naming we are contributing to recent scholarship in cultural geography that has moved beyond the visual to consider a wider sensory spectrum in the constitution of place. Our case material is drawn from Aotearoa/New Zealand where conservative reactions to sympathetic pronunciations of Maori names by media personalities are a frequent occurrence. By way of example, we interpret selected examples of unsolicited comment gleaned from newspapers during the period 1994-1999. We conclude that identity is at least in part narrated through place-referenced linguistic tactics such as pronunciation. Cet article se veut un inventaire critique des récents travaux académiques sur la toponymie et soutient que la question des aspects 'auditifs' du nom mérite davantage l'attention des chercheurs. Afin de remédier à ce manque dans la littérature existante, nous suggérons que la problématique de la prononciation constitue un élément important des débats culturels entourant l'attribution de noms de lieux, surtout chez les sociétés postcoloniales. En insistant sur les liens entre le fait de parler et celui de nommer, notre discussion s'inscrit dans les travaux récents en géographie culturelle allant au-delà du visuel afin de concevoir une gamme sensorielle beaucoup plus large en ce qui a trait à la conception du lieu. Nos données sont tirées de la Aotearoa/Nouvelle-Zélande où les réactions conservatrices sont fréquentes lorsque des noms d'origine Maori sont utilisés par des personnalités médiatiques. A titre d'exemple, nous interprétons des commentaires receuillis dans les journaux entre 1994-1999. Nous concluons que l'identité est en partie rattachée à des références toponymiques et linguistiques tactiques telles que la prononciation. Este papel da un análisis crítico de reciente erudición geográfica sobre el nombramiento de lugares y afirma que el aspecto auditivo del nombramiento todavía no forma uno de los asuntos de investigación. Para empezar a cerrar esta brecha en la literatura, consideramos que la pronunciación constituye un elemento importante en la política cultural del nombramiento de lugares dentro de las sociedades pos-coloniales. Al acertar vínculos entre el hablar y el nombrar contribuimos a erudición reciente en la geografía cultural que se ha ido más alláde lo visual para considerar un espectro sensorio más amplio en la constitución de lugar. La materia de nuestro estudio viene de Aotearoa/Nueva Zelanda donde son frecuentes las reacciones conservadores a pronunciaciones comprensivas de los nombres Maorí por personajes de los medios de comunicación. Como ejemplo, interpretamos ejemplos de comentarios no solicitados, recogidos de periódicos de los años 1994 a 1999. Concluimos que, por lo menos en parte, la identidad es narrada por tácticas lingüísticas que se refieren a un lugar, tal como pronunciación.     

From number to name: symbolic capital,places of memory and the politics of street renaming in New York City

Numerous studies have highlighted the importance of street naming as a strategy for constructing ‘places of memory’. This paper draws upon Bourdieu's theory of symbolic capital to examine two key moments in the history of street renaming in New York City: the renaming of the avenues on Manhattan's Upper West Side in the latter nineteenth century and the street renamings in Harlem a century later. The aim of such a comparative case study approach is to demonstrate how the symbolic capital associated with street naming may be linked to an elite project of symbolic erasure and forced eviction, on the one hand, and the cultural recognition of a historically marginalized group, on the other. Both cases consider attempts to rename formerly numbered streets and avenues, and the benefit of considering them together is that they illustrate the multiple interests—as well as the exclusionary politics of race, class, and gender—involved in such shifts from ‘number’ to ‘name’. In doing so, this paper extends the current literature on street naming as a commemorative practice by linking it to a broader relational view of place-making, memory, and symbolic capital.     

Eruvim: Talmudic places in a postmodern world

Lodged in the heart of Western urban space, eruvim are religious enclaves important to Orthodox Jewish culture. Eruvim enable acceptable behaviours on the Sabbath as defined by Talmudic theological dogma. Work, and the carrying of all objects associated with work, is prohibited in public spaces on the Sabbath by the Talmud, yet within the boundaries of the eruv, many such restrictions are relaxed, facilitating social interaction and community cohesion. This paper examines the religious and spatial dimensions of eruvim, including the obsessive detail paid to the demarcation of their boundaries, which serve as metaphorical walls and doorways. It also explicates the local politics through which private space is effectively extended into public space. Conceptually, the paper situates the topic within broader concerns about diasporic Jewish identity, which is threatened by assimilationism, slow demographic growth and secularization. It invokes recent theories concerning the spatialization of consciousness and subjectivity, noting the recent growth of eruvim as part of the global surge in ethnic identity that has emerged as a backlash to postmodern capitalism.     

Remembering Ancestors: Commemorative Rituals and the Foundation of Historicity

One of the most elaborated responses to the human perception of being‐in‐time (as the essence of historicity) has been the cult of the ancestors. Consequently, the ancestor cult may be considered foundational for historicity. This is the core idea of this article. It is illustrated with Romanian ethnographic data and elaborated with cross‐cultural examples. A few objects used in commemorative rituals—coliva (a special dish), trees and pots—are interpreted according to their symbolic force of enabling people to live temporality not only fragmentarily (past?+?present?+?future), but as a transcendental unity of the temporal continuum. Finally, the functions of history are specified—namely, identity defining, the critical function, and especially (as revealed by the ancestor cult) the function of memorialization.     

敦煌阴氏与佛教的关系及相关问题研究

本文通过阴氏与佛教的关系例证了石窟由佛窟到祠堂功能的转变;通过对阴氏写经题记的分析旁证阴氏就是在武则天时期飞腾发达的,并着重分析了“七世父母”的问题,认为其反映着三方面的内容,而主要的是对儒家“孝”思想的反映。认为一切跟佛教有关的活动都蕴涵着人们的思想感情,是人们内在想法的外在表露。     

West Papua and the Australia-Indonesia relationship: a case study in diplomatic difficulty

This article is a study of West Papua's impact on the relationship between Australia and Indonesia. Its purpose is to enhance understanding of various diplomatic challenges emerging from West Papua, the origins of these challenges, and how they impact upon the relationship. This will be achieved through an analysis of a particular incident in 2006 in which 43 West Papuan refugees arrived in Australia. This led to a diplomatic storm between the Indonesian and Australian governments, and a highly charged public debate. Insights will be gleaned from the incident and its aftermath to broaden our understanding of West Papua's impact on the Australia-Indonesia relationship.