The Third Man; Or, Agency in History; Or, Rationality in Revolution

Theories of revolution invoke human agency to commit the violence that revolution entails, yet theorists of revolution often denounce the general theory of human agency called rational choice because (they say) it does not explain macrosocial facts like revolution and also leaves out culture. Actually, however, rational choice is the major premise of any cogent explanation of revolution, and it includes culture as a factual premise. Rational-choice theory applied to explaining revolution dates back to Thucydides, whose method of explanation is sound and whose theory of revolution is true. Thucydides explains the macrosocial fact of revolution by way of models whose elements are people doing what they hope will succeed, that is, acting on opinion alias culture. Theorists of revolution who make sense of it all rehearse Thucydides: they analyze the narrative history into strategic actions and reactions, explain these actions and reactions by rational choice, and document the explanation with direct and circumstantial evidence for hope of success, though they seldom own up on theory and method or preach what they practice.     

化生:《白蛇传》的古本与今相 当代艺术介入非物质文化遗产生产性保护案例

<正>当传统非遗邂逅当代艺术,如何研发出秉承传统并适应当代生活习惯与文化需求的生产性保护工作模式和项目炒"化生:《白蛇传》的古本与今相"展览进行了创新性的探索。8月的恭王府像往日一样,笑迎天下宾客。拥挤的人群中,你会发现很多穿着个性、造型迥异的年轻人,吸引这批人前来参观的便是文化部恭王府管理中心与中央美术学院联合主办的"化生:《白蛇传》的古本与今相"展览。三大板块,建构《白蛇传》"古本"与"今相"的多重关联中国皮影艺术,是我国民间工艺美术与戏曲巧妙结合而成的独特艺术品种,是中华民族艺术殿堂里不可或缺的一颗精巧的明珠。     

《水浒传》的叙事结构所反映的民族文化心理

《水浒传》的循环式叙事结构,反映了中国人特殊的"出世—入世—出世"的生死轮回的民族文化心理,反映了一种积极入世的人生观、价值观,也是中国人特有的思想境界。     

Time, Space, and Image Making: Rock Art from the Dhar Tichitt (Mauritania)

Prehistoric images are particularly versatile and difficult to grasp. In a few cases of historical continuity, local cultural glosses provide researchers with a rich corpus of data and help in the interpretation of the imagery. Such approaches contribute to the interpretation of the material in a frozen time perspective. Their impact on the development of archaeological methodologies enabling researchers to deal with strictly prehistoric image making traditions without any known descendant communities remains to be felt. This paper is an attempt to develop a subtle and robust archaeological methodology for the study of prehistoric images. The suggested approaches are replicable, and conclusions are falsifiable.Les images préhistoriques sont particulièrement versatiles, et leur sens difficile à cerner en raison de leur polysémie. Dans une poignée de cas, là ou il y a continuité historique, les chercheurs ont reussi à constituer une riche documentation sur les pratiques culturelles liées à l'utilisation des images. Ils/elles parviennent ainsi à des niveaux d'interpretation très detaillée, dans une conception paradoxalement réifiée des sociétés en question, conservant des pratiques culturelles inchangées pendant des millénaires. L'impact de telles approches sur l'élaboration de bonnes méthodes archéologique est négligeable. Dans la plupart des cas, les images et les vestiges matériels sont le uniques témoins des sociétés préhistoriques étudiées. Cet article s'efforce de developper des méthodes, à la fois subtiles et robustes, permettant une analyse systématique des images préhistoriques. Les méthodes proposées sont réplicables, et les conclusions refutables.     

Repetition in the work of a Samoan Christian theologian: Or,what does it mean to speak of the Perfect Pig of God?

ABSTRACT

The Samoan Christian theologian Ama'amalele Tofaeono draws on diverse intellectual sources to articulate an ecological theology both distinctively Samoan and self-consciously Oceanic. I examine Tofaeono’s writings through the lens of recent work in linguistic anthropology on repetition and replication. By paying close attention to the ways texts and their original contexts, authorship, and intentions can be brought forward into new contexts, such anthropological work offers a useful perspective on Tofaeono’s theological arguments about creation and salvation. Tofaeono frames creation and salvation as actions that are necessarily ongoing—matters of repetition rather than rupture, a kind of continuity that depends not on fundamental durability but on repeated reengagement. An appreciation of Tofaeono’s articulation of time and repetition can in turn illuminate the anthropological study of social transformation and help develop productive interdisciplinary dialogue between anthropology and theology.     

国立敦煌艺术研究所成立始末

40年代初,张大千在莫高窟考察和研究敦煌艺术3年,曾呼吁将莫高窟收归国有,以保护其珍贵文物。1941年,于右任视察西北,参观莫高窟之后,正式提出设立敦煌艺术学院提案;1943年,原国民政府决定成立国立敦煌艺术研究所并组建筹备机构。该所于1944年1月1日正式成立,常书鸿任所长,负责开展敦煌艺术的管理、保护、研究工作。