The Not So Peaceful Civilization: A Review of Maya War

The first Maya encountered by Europeans in the early sixteenth century were exceedingly warlike, but by the 1940s the earlier Classic Maya (AD 250–1000) were widely perceived as an inordinately peaceful civilization. Today, in sharp contrast, conflict is seen as integral to Maya society throughout its history. This paper defines war, reviews the evidence for it in the Maya archaeological record, and shows how and why our ideas have changed so profoundly. The main emphasis is on the Classic period, with patterns of ethnohistorically documented war serving as a baseline. Topics include the culture history of conflict, strategy and tactics, the scope and range of operations, war and the political economy, and the intense status rivalry war of the eighth and ninth centuries AD that contributed to the collapse of Classic civilization. Unresolved issues such as the motivations for war, its ritual vs. territorial aims, and sociopolitical effects are discussed at length.     

Family and Sexuality the American Way

Books reviewed in this article: Karen Dubinsky, The Second Greatest Disappointment: Honeymooning and Tourism at Niagara Falls Kathleen Anne McHugh, American Domesticity: From How‐to Manual to Hollywood Melodrama Leila J. Rupp, A Desired Past: A Short History of Same‐Sex Love in America John C. Spurlock and Cynthia A. Magistro, New and Improved: The Transformation of American Women's Emotional Culture Jessica Weiss, To Have and To Hold: Marriage, the Baby Boom and Social Change     

Limiting Politics: Howardism,Media Rhetoric and National Cultural Commemorations

The electoral terms of the federal Coalition government under Prime Minister John Howard have been characterised by a blend of economic fundamentalism, neo-assimilationist social agendas, privatisation of infrastructure and of risk, and nostalgic politics. This is a particular Australian version of a wider neo-liberalism and, given the leadership role of the Prime Minister in this amalgam of doctrines and policies but also its considerably wider purchase, it is best designated as Howardism. To understand the successful acculturation of Howardism in the Australian body politic involves study of a range of factors. One of the least investigated, but also one of the most ubiquitous, is the role of media rhetoric. We present a selected history of recent media output and its relaying and amplification of key tropes of Howardism, focusing on three national commemorations.     

American Manhood and the Rhetoric of War

Book reviewed in this article:
Kristin L. Hoganson, Fighting for American Manhood: How Gender Politics Provoked the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars     

The State of the Union: Sexuality in American History

Books reviewed in this article: Merril D. Smith (ed.), Sex and Sexuality in Early America Beryl Satter, Each Mind a Kingdom: American Women, Sexual Purity, and the New Thought Movement, 1875–1920 Sharon R. Ullman, Sex Seen: The Emergence of Modern Sexuality in America M. E. Melody and Linda M. Peterson, Teaching America about Sex: Marriage Guides and Sex Manuals from the Late Victorians to Dr Ruth     

A Daily Revision of the Past: Fascism,Anti-Fascism,and Memory in Contemporary Italy

Recent cultural and political debate in contemporary Italy, which has often been focused on Fascism and the Resistance, has seen an attempt to reconsider the importance of the constitutive moment of the Republic, namely the Liberazione from Nazism–Fascism, and to equate the memories of Fascism and anti-Fascism. The direct consequence of these confused revisionist approaches is either to rehabilitate many aspects of the Duce's regime, or on the contrary to assign this shady page of history to oblivion. The effect of this would be to marginalize anti-Fascism, and even to depict Fascism as relatively ‘harmless’ or ‘apolitical’. The danger is that this trend may construct an artificial and distorted history and thus a ‘manipulated’ public memory for Italian society. The purpose of this article is not to defend anti-Fascism but to restore the reality of ‘Fascism in action’, and to challenge distorted revisionist perceptions of the past.