The Mollö Cog Re‐Examined and Re‐Evaluated

As part of a research project on medieval trade and maritime transportation in the former Norwegian province of Bohuslän, western Sweden, a dendrochronological analysis of the so‐called Mollö cog was undertaken. The wreck, which was first salvaged in 1980, was previously dated by ¹⁴C analysis. Since this provided a nearly 400‐year time‐span for the building of the vessel, a more precise dating was considered essential. In conjunction with dendrochronological sampling, several features not previously reported were recorded. This paper presents the find, the research history and the results of the dendrochronological investigation. © 2012 The Authors     

Re‐mythologizing the State: Public Security, ‘the Jesus Strategy’ and the Fiji Police

ABSTRACT My primary concern is with tracing how the police force has been transformed from a secular institution into an overtly religious one. Drawing from scholarly work on charismatic leadership and its routinization in institutional forms, much of it inspired by Max Weber's early work on these themes, my overarching aim is to grapple with the significance of Commissioner Teleni's reforms not only for the Fiji police force but more broadly for the shape of the Fijian state. While recognizing the acute importance of international relations in establishing and supporting Fiji's various political regimes, my focus here is firmly on the domain of the nation‐state as I wish to assess how politicians, military leaders, and now the Commissioner of Police attempt to constitute mass public support through their use of Christian rhetoric.     

Female and National Self‐Determination: A Gender Re‐reading of ‘The Apogee of Nationalism’

Abstract. This article offers a gender re‐reading of the international history of the post‐First World War peace process, a period when nationalism is said to have reached its ‘apogee’, when national self‐determination and mutual cooperation between nations in the form of a League of Nations defined liberal aspirations for a democratic new world order. It was also a period when international women's organisations emphasised female self‐determination as both a national and international issue. Juxtaposed, these two aspects of the history of the peace of 1919 shed light on the importance of sex difference to the idea of national self‐determination and to the overlapping constitution of the national and the international as spheres of political agency and influence in the early twentieth century.     

Returned to Sender: Some Predicaments of Re‐indigenisation

ABSTRACT It is some 40 years since Australia officially re‐indigenised its Aborigines, at the same time giving rise to cultures of indigenism in the community at large. For those who lived in the closely settled areas, re‐indigenisation entails a new positioning vis‐à‐vis what can be recovered of traditional practices and places, but also vis‐a‐vis non‐indigenous people involved in indigenism. The paper recounts the response of one such indigenous group to the possibility of learning secrets that had long been known to white people, but not to them.     

The Strange Case of Dr. Bucaille: Notes for a Re‐examination

The present essay focuses on the figure of Maurice Bucaille and on his contribution to the discourse on Islam and science. Its purpose is twofold. First of all, it aims to provide the reader with a concise map of the ideas of the French author, reconstructing their core and their interrelations. Furthermore, it aims to question what I define as “the apparent naivety” of Bucaille's work, a reason why he can sometimes be too easily dismissed, by pinpointing a number of original features of his intellectual activity. My argument is that Bucaille deserves more attention for two good reasons: firstly, because of the influence that he de facto exerts on Muslim societies, secondly, because of some highly specific characteristics of his discourse. Such features not only distinguish his contribution from analogous ones, but also give rise to interpretative questions, which have as yet been either overlooked or unsatisfactorily addressed. Closely connected to this thesis is the idea that Bucaille's work constitutes a good starting point for a discussion amongst scholars of different disciplines and from different cultural backgrounds. The first section reconstructs Bucaille's life and works. The second section focuses on his method and ideas regarding science. The third section is devoted to Bucaille's conclusions following his study of the Bible and the Qur'an, and therefore deals more closely with the core of his ideas. The fourth section covers Bucaille's complementary criticism of the theory of evolution. In the fifth section I examine the possible reasons behind the scant scholarly attention concerning Bucaille. In the final section I propose an interpretative model of Bucaille's figure conceived as a system of concentric spheres and I raise, for each one of them, several questions, which have so far been, in my view, insufficiently investigated, thus setting an agenda for further scholarly work.     

Charles the Simple,Robert of Neustria,and the vexilla of Saint‐Denis

A recent consensus holds that the deposition of Charles the Simple by Robert of Neustria in 922 was the result of a sudden deterioration in their relationship that had nothing to do with any earlier hostilities. A close examination of contemporary diplomas suggests a very different story. In 898, Charles did not faithfully implement the agreement he had made with Robert's brother Odo that gave him the succession and he resisted recognizing Robert's lay abbacies, in particuar that of Saint‐Denis. These grievances shaped the entirety of the reign, and their memory remained quite alive at the time of the deposition.