The Violence of Poverty: Theology and Activism in an “Age of Austerity”

ABSTRACT

Faith groups are in the front line of the struggle to defeat poverty in breadline Britain. Given their roots in local communities Churches and Christian NGOs are well-placed to challenge economic policies that have resulted in the spiraling of food poverty, homelessness, personal debt and child poverty. By framing poverty as a political choice, a form of structural violence and systemic sin this paper brings peace studies and political theology into a constructive dialogue. In the face of ongoing “austerity” the paper demonstrates that poverty represents a clear and present danger to the social fabric of the UK and argues that only a re-imagined interdisciplinary theology of liberation can provide academics and activists with the tools needed to defeat systemic poverty and the cultural violence upon which it rests.     

A troubled relationship: Yugoslavia and the European Economic Community in détente

The article examines the origins and evolution of Yugoslav policy toward the European Economic Community (EEC) from the mid-1960s until the signing of the Cooperation Agreement in 1980. The signing of the Treaty of Rome and the Community's initial success in the 1960s had a profound impact on the direction of Yugoslav foreign trade. Increased trade relations with the EEC and the domestic introduction of the 1965 Economic Reform proved vital in persuading Belgrade to become the first Communist country to establish diplomatic and trade relations with the Community in 1968. The article argues that these relations in the 1970s became of increasing relevance to the economic and, ultimately, political stability of Yugoslavia.     

Beyond Hollywood: Enhancing Heritage with the ‘Orphan’ Film

Global discussions relating to heritage preservation, with their traditional focus upon architecture, archaeological sites, and landscape, often overlook and, at times, even devalue the role of the moving image. The last century witnessed the emergence and development of moving image preservation practice, which largely remains a separate vocation with a unique agenda and approach. With a case study of historical conservation and presentation in San Antonio, Texas, this paper argues for greater dialogue and collaboration between moving image archivists and traditional heritage preservation practitioners. Creative use of archival media offers unparalleled opportunities to illustrate and explore the development and historical trajectory of heritage sites, the visitors to them and, most importantly, the local communities that participate in and facilitate the evolution of this heritage.     

But I'm Just an Artist!? Intersections,Identity, Meaning,and Context

This article revisits the complex intersections of identity and meaning in the context of a world in which cosmopolitanism is increasingly questioned. The role of the artist with regard to activism and cosmopolitan flows becomes difficult to navigate but important to probe. Findings drawn from fieldwork indicate that the artist is highly conflicted; often ephemerally aligned with various social movements that may or may not be related; and in a constant state of self‐negotiation and identity formation that are highly dependent on local context. Intersectionality may be a useful frame to reconceptualize the artist as a relationally connected set of constantly shifting identities rather than an assumed category, as sometimes portrayed. Key to this is an appreciation of the role of the observer in this process. Singapore is envisioned as a place of intersecting identity; so, too, are the artists within it, caught between local context and global currents.     

Narrating feminisms: what do we talk about when we talk about feminism in Estonia?

Abstract

Drawing on interviews with women who identify as feminists in Estonia, this article explores how the stories we tell about feminism and its past influence the kind of theoretical and political work we are able to do. Zooming in on the story of the emergence of feminisms in postsocialist Estonia which has not been thoroughly researched yet, this article calls upon feminists in Estonia to reflect critically on how they conceptualize feminisms, while at the same time building a framework to think about local feminism within transnational feminist context. Starting from stories of how women became feminists in Estonia since the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, I reflect on the gaps, chance encounters and tensions that my fieldwork revealed to narrate feminism differently, to bring forth new aspects of feminism in this context. In particular, I focus on two moments: the common imaginary of ‘real’ feminism as Western mass movement and the tensions between the local context and ‘Western feminism’. I complicate the narrative in the article through including interludes in between the main text to highlight how the incidents that happened outside and around the interviews shape my story of feminism in Estonia.     

Towards a critical political ecology of human–forest interactions: collecting herbs and mushrooms in a Bulgarian locality

This paper presents a critical political ecology of human–forest interactions in a Bulgarian locality. Based on primary fieldwork carried out annually since 1992, the argument is advanced that even in a relatively small space, environment–society relationships are sufficiently complex to make the enterprises of empirical analysis and theory-building quite challenging. Yet, as this case study of informal resource use practices shows, it is precisely because environment–society relationships are so intertwined that a 'symmetrical' treatment of humans and non-human actors is required; one that takes us well beyond the traditional political ecology of Blaikie or Black, but which, I shall argue, does not escape it entirely. Through a detailed ethnographic account of herb and mushroom collecting I develop the idea of 'symmetry' in three distinct ways. First I will explore the by now well-publicised notion that non-humans can be actors too. Second this basic insight will be developed via the more advanced conceptualisation of entities such as Thrift's 'effloresences' or expressions of 'distributed' information spaces and applied to the case study of herb and mushroom collection in a southwestern Bulgarian locality. Finally I consider the theoretical and practical policy implications of this analysis for all concerned, but most particularly those who claim to 'manage' and 'regulate' human–forest interactions.     

档案管理工作中电子信息的利用和开发

对于电子信息只有根据信息的类别进行管理,同时要符合保密、真实和完整的要求,才能确保电子信息的完整性和安全性。本文从存档电子信息的收集、保存、提供等角度,探讨了电子信息在现代档案管理中应该注意的问题。     

Moving Towards Transformative Democratic Action Through Archaeology

Archaeologists have explored how politics affect the way we see the past. They have investigated how constructions of the past naturalize present political conditions, and have explored uses of the past in current politics. Few have examined how politics in archaeology can relate to the future. In this article I develop ideas on a transformational politics in archaeology that focuses on critiquing oppressive relations in the past and present, and works towards building more just relations for the future. I examine how we can achieve this through building more democratic relations in the places we work.     

What happened to adventurous young people and their cool places?

ABSTRACT

The essay is about ‘youth full’ change, the content of which is always partial and incomplete but it is always playful in the sense that it is generative and creative. That revolutionary playfulness emanates from young people suggests an important harbinger of change that is often dismissed or feared by adults. As the world moves along dystopian axes, we ignore this palpable energy and its potential at great cost.     

AN ASSESSMENT OF A. W. KÜCHLER'S WORK IN THE CLASSIFICATION AND MAPPING OF VEGETATION

An attempt is made to use the Gorczynski index of continentality to trace changes in the continentality of climate in Central Russia through space and time. The index turns out to be sufficiently sensitive to investigate changes in continentality within a limited area such as the Central economic region of the USSR, but not sensitive enough to identify the effect of a large city (Moscow) on continentality. Changes in continentality over time are found to be in good agreement with the types of atmospheric circulation patterns that have been identified by Soviet climatologists. The continentality of Moscow was less pronounced during the first two decades of the 20th century, when atmospheric circulation was dominated by the so-called zonal pattern. It was more pronounced in the 1930s and 1940s, when the meridional and eastern forms of circulation predominated.     

In the front line: women,work and new spaces of labour politics in Poland

Pessimistic accounts of women's lives in post-communist Poland view women as powerless and passive victims of the transformation process. In contrast, this article argues that while political change and the restructuring of the economy have closed down some spaces of articulation and organisation, others have opened up. The article focuses on the way in which women in their spheres of work are shaping and actively resisting change through new organisations and individual and collective actions, which are in some ways a break with the past, but in other ways build on previous forms of activity. The work draws on qualitative research conducted over the last decade across Poland. This has coupled extensive interviews with women workers, national and regional trade union leaders, activists and feminists in a number of major Polish cities with reviews of Polish media and policy. We examine the economic and ideological context in which these new articulations are taking place, against the background of Poland's post-war communism and the rise of opposition movements. We look at the neoliberal restructuring of the economy and the implications for women within the labour market and in their domestic lives. In particular, we examine initiatives from below in workplace organisation, by focusing on new unions and new actions in the public sector, and the beginnings of organisation in the new areas of the economy such as supermarkets. Finally, we look at how women are articulating their interests beyond formal workplaces. We conclude that we should be optimistic about these new spaces of activism. While some are well established, others are embryonic but provide a strong foundation on which women can increase their participation in spaces that promote their varied interests.     

THE 2011 ANTIPODE AAG LECTURE Whose Responsibility Is It? Obligation,Citizenship and Social Welfare

Abstract: This article explores the ways that responsibility for social welfare and wellbeing is framed by service providers, activists and the state in two moments of welfare restructuring in the United States. Many service providers and activists rework notions of obligation and responsibility to challenge the state to meet its obligations to its citizens. They enact an oppositional politics of obligation and care that is rooted in normative values rooted in family and faith. The article concludes with a consideration of the potential for an oppositional politics of obligation.