Diehard Conservatism,Mass Democracy,and Indian Constitutional Reform,c.1918–35

This article explores the Conservative Party crisis over India to examine the relationship between diehard Conservatives and Britain's emerging democracy. Far from rejecting democracy outright, diehard rhetoric and mass communication demonstrates how they adapted to it and utilised it in pursuit of their objectives. The accommodation of diehard Conservatism within the Conservative Party was a necessary and mutual embrace. Contrary to popular image, it promoted Conservative unity and contributed to the party's remarkable electoral success. Unable to exact decisive victories, the capacity of diehard Conservatives to generate party crises over imperial questions, among grass‐roots and back‐bench Conservatives, ensured that they had a role in shaping the presentation and content of party policy. This had implications for leadership efforts to liberalise the party, and also popular perceptions of British imperialism and the feasibility of democracy in India.     

Mid-Holocene age obtained for nested diamond pattern petroglyph in the Billasurgam Cave complex,Kurnool District,southern India

India has one of the world's largest and most significant bodies of rock paintings and engravings, yet not a single rock art site or image has been directly and accurately dated using radiometric techniques. Here we report on results from the Billasurgam Cave complex near Kurnool in southern India. Although this cave complex has been investigated archaeologically since the late 1800s, it was not until 2008 that a large petroglyph, consisting of the remains of three nested diamond designs on a stalactite, was noted. In order to determine if this petroglyph had been made recently, flowstone was sampled from on top of and below the engraving. Radiocarbon dating revealed a mid-Holocene age of about 5000 cal BP for the petroglyph, but we cannot rule out the possibility that the engraving is several centuries younger. Similar nested diamond designs at some rock painting sites and on a chert core elsewhere in India have been assumed to be Mesolithic. Our result is consistent with this hypothesis, although we note that it also consistent with the creation of the petroglyph in the early Neolithic. We conclude that the Billasurgam engraved diamond design was probably made by Mesolithic foragers of the Kurnool region and is the oldest surviving form of rock art yet directly dated in southern India.     

Strength without Mercy: Winston Churchill on Technology and the Fate of Civilization

Abstract

Churchill's lifelong meditation on scientific progress led him to search for ways in which its transformative power could be moderated and guided for the preservation of civilization. The increasing role of scientific discovery and technological innovation in maximizing the destructive potential of warfare, Churchill believed, had brought a moment of decision for humanity: Whether to foster and maintain the moral and political principles that formed the foundation of civilized life or to trust wholly in an amoral science. He found guidance in the study of the humanities, Anglo-American constitutionalism, and Christian ethics.     

Sentiment vs Strategy: British Naval Policy,Imperial Defence,and the Development of Dominion Navies, 1911–14

This article examines British naval policy towards imperial defence and the development of autonomous Dominion navies in 1911–14. It shows that the Admiralty's main goal under the leadership of Winston Churchill was to concentrate British and Dominion warships in European waters, and ideally in the North Sea, to meet the German threat. Churchill's approach to naval developments in the Dominions was also shaped by his desire to fulfil the Cabinet's policy of remaining strong in the Mediterranean Sea. He made some concessions to sentiment in the Dominions, but his attempts to create a coherent imperial policy for the naval defence of Britain and its empire were ultimately unsuccessful. By 1914 it was clear that the Dominions would not provide the additional warships Britain required for the Mediterranean, and on the eve of war the Admiralty was beginning to prepare an imperial naval strategy that more accurately reflected the Empire's capabilities.     

Churchill's ‘Iron Curtain’ Speech in Context: The Attempt to Achieve a ‘Good Understanding on All Points’ with Stalin's Soviet Union

More than 70 years ago, on 5 March 1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered his ‘iron curtain’ speech at Westminster College in Fulton. The speech immediately attracted worldwide attention and proved to be highly controversial. Most contemporaries in East and West and the vast majority of subsequent historians interpreted the speech as Churchill's call for western resistance to Stalin's expansionist policies and the continuation of the wartime ‘special relationship’ between Washington and London. This article argues, however, that Churchill's speech has been misunderstood. When set in the context of Churchill's other pronouncements on world affairs during his time as leader of the opposition between 1945 and 1951 and in view of his vigorously pursued ‘Big Three’ ‘summit diplomacy’ with Moscow and Washington after he returned as Prime Minister in 1951, the ‘iron curtain’ speech must be seen in a different light. It becomes clear that this famous speech was not Churchill's sabre-rattling call for commencing or energizing the East--West conflict with the Soviet Union. Quite to the contrary, his speech was meant to prevent the escalation of this conflict and avoid the dangerous clash between the world's greatest powers that soon became known as the Cold War.     

‘Eadem,sed aliter’: Arthur Schopenhauer as a Critic of ‘Progress’

Summary

Scholars have tended to overlook the political import of the ideas of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860). This is perhaps unsurprising, since Schopenhauer himself was not a political philosopher and wrote relatively little about political matters. But Schopenhauer's near-silence on political topics should warrant our attention: why would a systematic philosopher, who made lasting contributions in metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics, devote so little attention to politics? Connecting his political thought with his philosophy of history, I argue that Schopenhauer can best be regarded as a critic of the idea of progress, especially ‘progress’ conceived of as national development or the growth of the state.     

FROM NIETZSCHE'S PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY TO KANT'S—AND BACK

Reflecting on Anthony Jensen's Nietzsche's Philosophy of History, this essay describes Jensen's account of the three‐stage development of Nietzsche's historiographical practices and metahistorical positions: from his early philological writings, through The Birth of Tragedy, and into the mature philosophy of history that Jensen uncovers in Toward the Genealogy of Morality and Ecce Homo, which, so Jensen argues, consists in ontological realism combined with representational anti‐realism. While Jensen notes the importance of a like‐minded readership for the success of Nietzsche's historiographical projects, the essay asks whether Nietzsche did in fact have such a readership and further emphasizes that the Genealogy and Ecce Homo are structured in such a way that they seek to create one. A similar structure is identified in Kant's “Idea for a Universal History from a Cosmopolitan Perspective.” The essay concludes by reflecting on the significance of this similarity in light of the doctrines of eternal recurrence that are expressed in both Nietzsche's late writings and Kant's youthful cosmology.     

‘Continuous abuse’ or ‘a unanimous blessing’? Reassessing the Conservative Party’s stance on the 1951 Festival of Britain

The 1951 Festival of Britain has long been seen as both a key turning point in the country’s post-war history and an event which was delivered, by Clement Attlee’s Labour Government, in the face of formidable political (and media) opposition. This article considers the Festival’s status as a pivotal moment in modern British history but focuses primarily on the Conservative Party’s approach to the project. In doing so, its draws on previously neglected evidence to suggest that successive works on the subject have greatly exaggerated the extent to which the festivities were the subject of partisan campaigning and political contention.     

民俗学艺术论题的转向——从民间艺术到支撑人之“生”的艺术(vernacular艺术)

民俗学研究中关于艺术的讨论通常是在民间艺术或民俗艺术概念之下展开的。然而,这类议论往往深受传统与历史性的束缚,普通人在生活世界里所制作的平凡作品很少有机会能被视作"艺术"。要使这样略失偏颇的论题实现在现代社会中的转向,vernacular艺术这个概念应能发挥效用。它所指的,是并不自许为"艺术家"的普通人受难以抑制的创作冲动所驱使而作成的艺术;是在那原本与正统艺术世界的制度、权力或权威无涉的世界里,自学习得艺术技能与知识的人们苦心巧思而成的艺术。它是呈现在普通人生活现场与路上的艺术,有时亦是支撑人生、充实生活的艺术,是寻回新生、填补生命的艺术。在民俗学中采用vernacular艺术这一视点时,艺术本身并不是真正需要我们考察的对象。我们应当考察的是艺术背后人们千姿百态的生活形象与方式,是他们别具特征的人生观与人性,这些都是极好的研究材料。另外,将"艺术家"的个人史与其生活社会的当代史加以描述,从中亦能生长出研究的良材。     

从生活到艺术

从改革开放三十年中国美术发展的概况,谈从生活到艺术的创作规律。期待艺术家以十年磨一剑的心态,为我们这个时代留下真正能够传至久远的好作品。     

Systems theory,systems art and the computer: Ernest Edmonds interviewed by Francesca Franco

ABSTRACT

This interview with Edmonds, conducted by Franco in 2016, explores how Systems art, Systems Theory, and his personal relationships with artists such as Malcolm Hughes, Kenneth Martin and Edward Ihnatowicz influenced his art practice.     

‘Imago Mundi’ bibliography (of literature mainly published in 1985–87)

The History of Cartography, Volume 1: Cartography in Prehistoric, Ancient and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean. Edited by J. B. Harley and David Woodward. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1987. Pp. xxii + 599, 40 colour plates. US$100.00

Kartographische Quellen Welt‐, See‐ und Regionalkarten by Anna‐Dorothee von den Brincken. Typologie des Sources du Moyen Âge Occidental, fasc. 51. Turn‐hout: Brepols (for Université Catholique de Louvain, Institut d'Études Médiévales), 1988. Pp. 117, plates.

Chizu no Shiwa: Creases of Map or Essays on the History of Cartography by Kazutaka Unno. Tokyo: Yūshōdō Press, 1985. 4 8419 0009 8. Pp. xii+338, illustrations. Yen 3500.

Maps and Plans for the Local Historian and Collector by David Smith. London: Batsford, 1988. 0 7134 5191 2. Pp. 240, illustrations. £19.95.

Maps for Local History by Paul Hindle. London: Batsford, 1988. Batsford Local History Series. 0 7134 5583 7. Pp. 160, illustrations. £14.95.

American Maps and Mapmakers: Commercial Cartography in the Nineteenth Century by Walter W. Ristow. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1985.08143 17685. Pp. 488, illustrations. $60.00.

Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History edited by Helen Hornbeck Tanner. The Civilisation of the American Indian Series 174. Norman and London: University of Oklahoma Press (for The Newberry Library), 1987. 0 8061 1515 7 (cloth)/0 8061 2056 8 (paper). Pp. xv+224, illustrations, maps. $29.95.

Cartographic Innovations: An international handbook of mapping terms to 1900 edited by Helen M. Wallis and Arthur H. Robinson. Tring: Map Collector Publications, 1987. Pp. xx + 353, illustrations. £47.     

传统书画装裱艺术的形成发展与革新

文章全面总结了传统书画装裱艺术的成就,并就传统的装裱形式如何适应新时代的需要进行了深入的探讨,指出继承与革新将使这一传统艺术充满新的活力。     

The Lost Leader: Sir Stafford Northcote and the Leadership of the Conservative Party, 1876–85*

Sir Stafford Northcote has gone down in history as a man who fell short of the ultimate achievement of being prime minister largely because of personal weakness, and lack of political virility and drive. The picture painted by Northcote's political enemies – most notably the Fourth Party – has been accepted uncritically. Yet, political motives lay behind the actions of these supporters, and their harsh black and white portrait is not illustrative of the complexity of the situation in which Northcote found himself. Although individual characteristics undoubtedly played a part in his final political failure, underlying dynamics and structural transformations in politics and political life were more significant. It was more than simply the misfortune in succeeding the exceptionally charismatic Disraeli as leader. Northcote was faced with unparalleled disruption in parliament from Irish Nationalist MPs; the starkly polarised debate on the eastern question left him detached as a moderate. His temperament was better suited to constructive government rather than to opposition. However, following general election defeat in 1880, Northcote was denied this opportunity. Equally, his position in the lower House denied him the capacity to define a clear political critique of the Liberal government. Northcote's leadership of the party reflected the changing nature of British politics as radicals, tories, Irish Nationalists and Unionists increasingly contested the consensual style more appropriate to the political world of Palmerston and the 14th earl of Derby.