The shaping of a market for technical know‐how in Latin America 1870–1930

Ingar Kaldahl, Arbeid og miljø ved Follafoss tresliperi og Ranheim papirfabrikk 1920–1970 [Work and work environment at Follafoss pulp‐mill and Ranheim paper mill 1920–1970]. (Trondheim, Norway: Department of History, University of Trondheim, 1994). 525 pp. ISBN 82–7765–002–7.

Britta Lövgren, Hemarbete som politik [Housework as politics. Discussions on housework in Sweden in the 1930s and the 1940s and the establishing of The Home Research Institute (Hemmenes Forskningsinstitut)]. (Stockholm: Almqvist &; Wiksell International, 1993). 232 pp. ISBN 91–22–01556–6.

Sidsel Eriksen, Sester Silfverbergs sorger [Sister Silfverberg's sorrows. A story about how a Sunday‐school teacher became a temperance agitator and a feminist]. (Copenhagen: Spektrum, 1993). ISBN 87–7763–088–2.

Alexandra Ramsay, Huvudstadens hjärta. Filantropi och social förändring i Helsingfors: två fruentimmers föreninger 1848–1865 [The heart of the capital. Philanthropy and social change in Helsingfors ‐ two ladies’ societies 1848–1865]. (Helsingfors: Finska Vetenskaps‐Societeten‐Suomen Tiedeseura, 1993.) 183 pp. ISBN 951–653–248–9.

Elina Katainen (ed.), Kotomaan koko kuva. Kirjoituksia elokuvasta ja 1930‐luvun sosiaalikistoriasta [Full Portrait of the Homeland. Studies in Cinema and the Social History of the 1930s]. (Helsinki: Suomen Historiallinen Seura. Historiallinen Arkisto 100. Helsingin yliopiston talous‐ ja sosiaalihistorian laitos. Talous‐ ja sosiaalihistoriallisia tutkimuksia 2, 1993. 232 pp. ISBN 951–8915–68–7, ISSN 0073–2540.

Erik Tudeer, Det åländska folkets historia V:1 1920–1990 [The History of the Åland Islanders]. (Ekenäs:Ekenäs Tryckeri Aktiebolag, 1993). 287 pp. ISBN 952–9848–02–1.     

Material culture after text: re‐membering things

Bronze Age finds in Norway have recurringly generated discussion throughout 150 years of Norwegian archaeology. This article outlines the history of attitudes towards the Bronze Age in Norway, and attempts to identify paradigmatic features. In general, the same basic analytic concepts have been employed since Christie's and Worsaae's days until the present. This is somewhat surprising, especially in light of general archaeological postwar research efforts in Norway and international developments in theory and method. The article examines some of the contemporary social mechanisms that have hampered rejuvenation of Bronze Age research, and outlines basic positions the author believes to be valuable.     

One community ‐ one people? Ethnicity and demography in a North‐Norwegian community 1865–1930

This article demonstrates how the ethno‐demographic composition of a particular local community changes dramatically during a period of 65 years according to the population censuses, although migration is of minor importance. The changes are explained partly as a consequence of an increase in interethnic marriages which produces a growing number of inhabitants with a “mixed” ethnic background, and partly as a change in registration practices concerning ethnicity. In the same period there are no indications of a stratified social structure in the community reflecting differences in opportunities between the various ethnic categories. The article concludes that in this period we witness an emerging fusion of ethnic categories which is generated by a growing number of affinal and consanguine relations and an absence of assets and resources which could be monopolized on an ethnic basis.     

THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF WHITEHORSE: 1898–1945

In the spring of 1975 Canada supplied one chapter in the Vietnam “Babylift.” Canadians disagreed about the Babylift's meaning for themselves and their nation. For some, it offered the opportunity to rescue child casualties of war and to confirm a multicultural country; for others, it constituted kidnapping and evidence of Western imperialism. This dual response is explored in four parts in this article. First, there is a brief history of Canadian adoption, which grew gradually more inclusive after World War II to include youngsters of Asian origin. Second, it describes public, especially newspaper, responses to the US war in Vietnam and the place of children in this. Third, it introduces adults engaged in the Babylift and their approach to international adoption more generally. And finally, it profiles the children involved and examines what rescue or kidnapping might have entailed for them.     

The history of ‘Social Technology’, 1898–1930

Since the term was first coined, in the late nineteenth century, ‘social technology’ has had a mixed fate. Whereas ‘technology’ has become one of the keywords of the twentieth century, ‘social technology’ never quite seemed to settle in the vocabulary of social theory. In this article, we focus on the early history of ‘social technology’, tracing its spread from its origin in the sociology department at the University of Chicago, and describing the increasing competition from the term ‘social engineering’ starting in the 1920s. We argue that this shift in terminology is significant, because it is an index of changing ideas about the demarcation of sociology, about the application of science in the betterment of society and about the nature of technology.     

The French regiment in the Latin East, 1254–91

When St. Louis returned to France in 1254 at the end of his first crusade, he left behind him a force of 100 knights and other soldiers as a contribution to the defence of the Latin Kingdom. This force, which has become known as the French regiment, was maintained by St. Louis and his successors throughout most of the period leading up to the fall of Acre in 1291. The number of troops fluctuated, as did the level of support provided by the French crown. However, the regiment was a useful addition to the kingdom's armies. Its soldiers were involved in much of the military activity during the second half of the thirteenth century. Its leaders, men like Geoffrey of Sergines and John of Grailly, became important figures in the political life of the kingdom.