Several issues influencing the course of German history

The course of German history is very sinuous. German nationalism, the imbalance of the political and economic development generated by the influence of the historical and cultural traditions, the might of the Junker feudal aristocracy, the weakness of the bourgeoisie, the postwar reeducation of democratization imposed by the western allied powers on Germany, the developed education and technology, etc. are all important factors that influenced Germany’s history. __________ Translated from: Wuhan Daxue Xuebao, Renwen Kexue Ban 武汉大学学报: 人文科学版 (Wuhan University Journal, Humanity Science), No. 3, 2004     

The life course and emotions beyond fieldwork: affect as position and experience

A key debate about emotions in the field of human geography exists between geographies of affect, emphasising the non-cognitive, and emotional geography, emphasising the cognitive. In this paper, I draw on life course theory to present a parallel between the two. By dividing affect into two entities, känsloläge and känsloupplevelse, referring to a ‘feeling position’ and a ‘feeling experience’, I argue that a unique life course position can be analysed through känsloläge, while the feelings that are actually expressed and felt can be analysed through feeling rules in känsloupplevelse. To exemplify this relationship, I draw on affects and emotions from my own fieldwork, illustrating the ways in which känsloläge and känsloupplevelse affect both the research process and the researcher. In the conclusion section, the need for further exploration of the juxtaposition between the feeling position and the feeling experience, where the subject is centred but is not the sole owner of affect, is emphasised.     

Qualitative life course methodologies: critical reflections from development studies

This article reflects on two experiences of applying qualitative life course research in development studies. The first methodology centred on the elicited narratives of older people in Buenos Aires exploring their lifetime relations with their children and their current well-being. The second employed semi-structured interviews with young adults in Zambia to investigate their trajectories towards economic empowerment. In both methodologies, the roles of linked lives and of wider social, economic and political changes were central. The article contributes to critical reflection on methodological choices and trade-offs, by focusing on dilemmas that arise from a desire to address policy makers and more quantitatively-orientated researchers. It explores three themes: the challenges of making sense of disparate narratives of linked lives; the possibilities for engaging with individual subjectivities; and different strategies for situating individual experiences in dynamic social, economic and political contexts.     

俄罗斯学者关于埃文人的历史文化研究历程

埃文人是俄罗斯西伯利亚东部和远东地区的少数民族,属通古斯语族北支部分.随着俄国对东北亚地区土地的占领和统治的进程,俄国学者对埃文人的考察与研究也随之展开,本文概述了沙俄、苏联和俄罗斯时期学者的考察与研究工作,并介绍了埃文人历史文化的主要特点.     

Scarcity and prosperity in postwar childbearing: explorations from a life course perspective

An investigation of the role of Depression scarcity and subsequent prosperity on the postwar baby boom using two longitudinal cohorts from the 1920s defined by birth. The study into account variability in Depression experiences and alternative life pathways (ascent, decline and stability across generations) in attempting to explain linkages between the Depression and postwar fertility. Easterlin's relative income theory is explored and found to be an insufficient model for explaining the observed demographic behavior. It fails to take variability in Depression experience and life pathways into account, whereas fertility records of cohort members showed striking differences according to those variables. By relating 2 sets of variations, 1) Depression experience, and 2) subsequent adult status and accomplishments during a period of affluence and economic growth, circumstances were identified that enhanced different imprints of a Depression childhood, the bearing of more children, and fertility constraint. The interdependence of social change and life course is underscored by this study.