In Search of Religion

Anthropology began with a concern for exploring religion. Over time it abandoned its interest in origins, including the origins of religion. The influence of Boas's cultural history approach and Malinowski's functionalism directed anthropologists into particularistic studies of religion as part of given cultural systems. There was a movement away from the search for universal themes and the psychic unity of humans. Most anthropologists contented themselves with heuristic definitions of religion, which aided them with fieldwork. This article examines the tension between theoretical and empirical, and humanistic and scientific impulses in anthropology and some of the major trends in the field.     

Botta Adorno,Empress Maria Theresa and Brussels Tapestry. Part II

Abstract

Relying on newly excavated archival sources, this two-part study seeks to map the genesis and development of the plan conceived by Antoniotto di Botta Adorno (1688–1774), Minister Plenipotentiary of the Austrian Netherlands from 1749 to 1753, to support the Brussels tapestry industry by promoting Brussels tapestries as diplomatic gifts. The first part sheds fresh light on the lives and mutual relations between the tapestry producers (tapissiers) who populated the landscape in the 1750s — Peter van den Hecke (1680–1752), Daniel IV Leyniers (1705–1770) and the half-brothers Jan Frans (1697–1774) and Peter II van der Borcht (1712–1760) — and analyses the slow maturation of Adorno’s plan in the summer of 1749. This second article describes the way in which Botta Adorno made the project a reality and examines the strategies devised by the Minister and the Brussels tapissiers and the context in which they sought to apply them.     

Botta Adorno,Empress Maria Theresa and Brussels Tapestry in the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Part I

Relying on newly excavated archival sources, this two-part study seeks to map the genesis and development of the plan conceived by Antoniotto di Botta Adorno (1688–1774), Minister Plenipotentiary of the Austrian Netherlands from 1749 to 1753, to support the Brussels tapestry industry by promoting Brussels tapestries as diplomatic gifts. The first part sheds fresh light on the lives and mutual relations between the tapestry producers (tapissiers) who populated the landscape in the 1750s — Peter van den Hecke (1680–1752), Daniel IV Leyniers (1705–1770) and the half-brothers Jan Frans (1697–1774) and Peter II van der Borcht (1712–1760) — and analyses the slow maturation of Adorno’s plan in the summer of 1749. The second article will describe the way in which Botta Adorno made the project a reality and will also examine the strategies devised by the Minister and the Brussels tapissiers and the context in which they sought to apply them.     

宗教对抗国家——埃及现代化的难题

最近由于接触了埃及的现代化 ,发现在这个过程中 ,国家与宗教的冲突十分明显。冲突的最高潮表现为萨达特总统遇刺事件 ,在众目睽睽之下 ,萨达特在盛大的阅兵式上被伊斯兰激进分子刺杀。国家与宗教的冲突是埃及现代化的困境之一 ,本文即试图对这一问题做初步探讨。一、世俗主义与国家振兴埃及现代化过程中存在着两条平行的线 ,一条是显线 ,一条是隐线。显线是世俗主义——民族主义的线 ,隐线是伊斯兰现代主义——原教旨主义的线。埃及出现这种情况 ,是因为现代化从本质上说是世俗的运动 ,但埃及社会又浸透着宗教传统。在埃及现代化过程中 ,两…     

Power and Religion in a Modern State: Desecularisation in Australian History

Secularisation is a concept with many meanings making it difficult to analyse historically. Yet it is the default master narrative in much Australian historiography. Secular historians typically criticise the role of religion in history as being either too unengaged or, if engaged, too intrusive and negative in its impact. This article challenges both assumptions, taking five “nodal points” in Australian history and arguing that they are better given a “Christian” than a secular interpretation. Australia's first European settlement was a high‐minded reform experiment, based partly on a humanitarian Christian vision. The Church Acts gave the population ready access to Christian influence, resulting in a highly “Christianised” nation. When federated, that nation refused to give ascendancy to any one Christian denomination, but largely assumed that its polity was that of a “Christian commonwealth.” Out of its Christian commitment, in the middle of the twentieth century, it withstood control by atheistic communists of its industrial and political life. In the first decade of the present century, a surprising number of politicians have sought to define its national identity largely in terms of its Christian heritage rooted in the Classical/Christian tradition.     

In Search of an Innovative State: The Development of the Biopharmaceutical Industry in Taiwan,South Korea and China

Recent developments in the biopharmaceutical industry in Taiwan, South Korea and China bear witness to the transformation of these states in nurturing an innovation‐based industry. This article argues that the segmentation of the value chain of the biopharmaceutical industry has provided industrializing countries with a window of opportunity. These East Asian states have modified their former catching‐up approaches by establishing a more effective institutional platform that can attract knowledge‐creation players to the industry. Through case studies, the authors show that the Taiwan state's promotion of the biopharmaceutical industry has been based on an incremental approach; existing state policies have been modified to cope with the demands of the industry, which has resulted in the continuation of its SME‐based industrial structure. The methods of the Korean state have been more radical, in that the policies that previously favoured the chaebols have gradually been reoriented toward the promotion of smaller, science‐based firms that now co‐exist alongside the chaebols. Finally, the Chinese state and local governments have sought to promote this innovation‐based industry by building biotech parks. This approach has resulted in a boom in new science firms, which have become increasingly isolated from the flourishing domestic SOE‐led market.     

“满洲国”的孝子——国家、宗教以及守墓行为的适应性变化

<正>1938年10月23日,以"李孝子"闻名的李中三结束了三年的守墓生活,离开了他母亲墓旁的小屋。在他守墓期间,这处位于吉林省中部九台乡间的墓地以"孝子坟"闻名于世,在当时日本占领的满洲国腹心地带,这只是几座孝子坟中的一处。每天都有上百个朝圣者从满洲各地来到这里祈祷、烧香,并且从坟头带走一把被赋予了神奇力量的土壤。李期满脱孝的时候,这一事件被当作一个正式的儒家仪式举行,几千人前来参加,并由一干满洲国的政治名流主持完成。     

Muslim Contestations over Religion and the State in the Middle East

Abstract

With the future of the Middle East uncertain and unstable, claims to holding the authentic Islamic understanding of the role of religion in politics remain competed over in a political struggle for support, with sides believing that whoever can articulate the authenticity of their vision of government would become more able to influence public opinion. While one train of thought posits Islamic governance as an authentic and correct form of polity for the region which would bring about accountable, elected government, the other claims that Islam is fundamentally silent on the issue of the "state," and that notions of an "Islamic state" or caliphate are in fact dictatorial and antithetical to orthodox Islam, though Islamic values can inform the individual in their role as a citizen within a democratic state. This article will briefly examine the genealogy of these two competing claims from a Sunni Muslim perspective after examining the dominant approaches to analysing political Islamic groups, while also questioning whether it is fundamentally necessary to insert democratic ideals into such a discussion.     

In Search of ‘Affectionate Regard’: American Merchant Lobbies and the State during the Atlantic Imperial Crisis*

This article revisits the politics of British merchants trading to North America in the period between 1763 and 1783. Their political success and failure in this critical period have been examined primarily in terms of their impact on the escalation of imperial crisis, with the day‐to‐day operation of merchant politics rarely taken into full account. This article takes an alternative approach of studying the political influence of merchants trading to North America within the context of their interaction with the state. By looking into the organisation, the process of lobbying, and the arguments that the merchants adopted, the article highlights how, in response to many sources of tension and uncertainty inherent within their relationship with the state, they demarcated their own areas of contribution to the shaping of commercial and colonial policy. Through the case study of merchants trading to North America, this article sheds further light on the necessity to understand the evolution of such modern political institutions as commercial lobbies in their specific economic and political contexts.     

陈焕章与民国初年的国教运动

陈焕章是民初思想界的重要人物,他与孔教会其他人士一道,致力于发掘传统儒学的“神学”及“现代性”内涵,并发起了规模巨大的国教运动。尽管这场运动与民初的帝制复辟运动纠缠在一起,但国教派并非都主张帝制,至少陈焕章等人与复辟派是有严格的政治界限的。国教运动思想家企图以“保教”为手段来“保国”,体现了鲜明的化民族主义,却与民初的民主主义产生了矛盾;另外,将本来属于“人化”的中国传统儒学人为地塑造成“神化”,也有违“传统”。这都注定了国教运动必然失败的命运。陈焕章学贯中西,本应在思想化方面有积极的建树,却与国教运动结下不解之缘,国教运动失败,他的历史地位与作用也因此而被淹没。     

探索古老的生育秘密

占里人自古以来,用自制草药施行生育调节.有避孕药、绝育药,据说甚至还有一种叫做"换花草"的调节婴儿性别的"仙草".占里的药方都是保密的,药师都是女性,她们从小学习医术,但必须到了中年以上才能给人用药.占里田野报告的说明.     

寻找一条"照片上的公路"--二战史上著名的"24拐"在哪里

编者按: 春节后,接到戈叔亚的电话,他几乎是叫喊着告诉我:他在贵州找到了"24拐"!我把他的问题随便问了几个不同行业的人(非学者):"24拐"在哪里?他们几乎是异口同声地说:在怒江吧?或者是在澜沧江.许许多多的人,尤其是云南人对这条公路,大都是从书籍、杂志和报纸上得知的.50多年来,我们都没有亲眼见到这条路,但都相信了专家和媒体的"专业见解".实际上,不只是战后出生的人,甚至战争的当事者,也不全知道.于是,大家都错了.戈叔亚自嘲自己一开始就找错了方向.