From sedition to patriotism: performance, place, and the reinterpretation of American ethnic identity

Between the two World Wars, many Americans changed their attitudes toward ethnic minorities and their place within American civic culture. States such as Wisconsin, with its dense concentration of diverse immigrant groups, came under especially harsh fire during the Great War, only to be celebrated 20 years later as microcosms of a pluralist democracy. Although much has been written about this profound transformation of American ethnic identity from the perspective of «official culture», or those governing élites in power, less is known about the role of immigrant communities themselves in this change. Examination of the intertwining of ideology with the social manifestations of cultural performance in one Wisconsin community provides a way to interpret the elusive experience of ordinary people. In the case of two interwar Swiss American cultural performances, a view of ethnic culture emerges that sought to refashion a more inclusive definition of what it meant to be American. In the process of redefining their own identity, third generation Swiss strategically used such performance-based memory work. Their efforts not merely reflected, but shaped a discourse of ethnicity between the wars that became decreasingly antagonistic and gradually more open to ethnic and cultural difference.     

Young women and public leisure spaces in contemporary Beijing: recreating (with) gender,tradition, and place

Feminist geographers and leisure scholars have long argued that one critical way to understand gendered norms and expectations is through examining women's access to and experiences of leisure activities. Set in the context of the rapid economic, political, and social changes that have taken place in Beijing over the past half century, this article draws on in-depth interviews and extensive participant observation to explore the role of newly available public leisure spaces in the lives and leisure of young women in Beijing, in particular by examining the way that these spaces provide an opportunity for the negotiation of new gender norms and identities. Through an analysis of the interaction of gender norms and practices with women's use of and behavior in public leisure spaces, we argue that women's behavior in public leisure spaces in contemporary Beijing remains strongly circumscribed by gendered norms. Rather than their presence itself constituting a challenge to gender expectations, in many cases their leisure behavior and experiences serve to reinforce the social norms that masculinize public leisure spaces. In spite of this, however, the findings of this research suggest that public leisure spaces may, in some cases, provide women with a place from which to challenge gender norms.     

Planning ideology and geographic thought in the early twentieth century: Charles Whitnall's progressive era park designs for socialist Milwaukee

As Milwaukee’s chief park planner in the early to mid-twentieth century, Charles Whitnall responded to the various underlying ideologies of the period within which he worked. His preference for parks was a political and physical response to and remedy for the industrialized and heavily congested city he called home. By examining the Progressive Era discourse associated with planning, this article situates Whitnall’s work within the political, aesthetic, and environmental contexts of geographic thought that influenced his plans for Milwaukee. In promoting a physical awareness associated with the natural features of the region and responding to the sociopolitical framework of contemporaries such as Ebenezer Howard, Whitnall incorporated a sense of compassion within his planning. He responded to the preexisting beer gardens of Pabst and Schlitz, as well as Olmsted-designed park spaces, by advocating for decentralization as part of a broader socialist agenda that had swept through Milwaukee during the early 1900s.     

Ontologies of the Future and Interfaces for All: Archaeological Databases for the Twenty-First Century

Archaeological database management systems serve the basic and important functions of ordering, archiving, and disseminating archaeological data. The increased availability of computers and data storage over the past two decades has enabled the exponential growth of archaeological databases and data models. Despite their importance and ubiquity, archaeological database systems are rarely the subject of theoretical analysis within the discipline due to their “black box” nature and the perceived objectivity of computerized systems. Inspired by H. Martin Wobst’s meditations on materiality and disciplinary ethics, in this paper I explore how archaeological database systems structure archaeological interpretation and disciplinary practice. In turn, I offer suggestions for how archaeological database systems can better support pressing anthropological research topics of the 21st century including multivocality, participatory research and ethics, social memory, and social complexity studies.     

A time and place for everything: an essay on recreation, re-Creation and the Victorians

The institution of more regulated and spatially distinctive work practices from the early-eighteenth century onwards, together with the later Victorian penchant for classification, “cost-benefit analysis” and social theorizing drew increasing attention to the nature and use of leisure time amongst the ordinary mass of people. Mid-nineteenth century theorems began to advocate causal connections between the perceived inactivity of most leisure forms and the moral decline of the working class, and adherents to such theorems sought thereafter to institute new and improving means of recreation, or more extremely, re-Creation as a cure for the Nation's ills. Drawing further strength from constructed contrasts between the precepts of an earlier aristocratic and leisured eighteenth century, the Victorian “recreationists” sought both temporal means (based upon the use of Sunday particularly) and spatial strategies (from the design of the home, through to the set-aside space of the seaside resort) to instil discipline into leisure and to marginalize certain forms of unacceptable behaviour.     

Food for thought: using game cameras to better understand the movement of bones by scavenging in archaeological faunal assemblages

This paper questions our understanding of the movement of bones by animal scavengers in the archaeological record. Since assumptions regarding the effects of animal scavenging shape final interpretations of skeletal element frequencies in archaeological faunal assemblages, they are important for our understanding and reconstruction of ancient human behaviour. The results of a 4-year actualistic kangaroo scavenging study from Australia are used to question our understanding of the movement of the bone by contrasting visual data captured by motion-activated digital game cameras with traditional taphonomic studies using skeletal element frequencies. Game cameras are commonly used by ecologists to capture the behaviour of living species but have not yet been used in experimental archaeology where visually documenting animal scavenging behaviour can be used to understand the movement of carcasses and individual bones. Results suggest that traditional zooarchaeological analyses may not be accurate indicators of hunted versus scavenged prey in archaeological faunal assemblages. Moreover, they most certainly fail to document the entire suite of animals scavenging a carcass. These implications are discussed with particular reference to the ability to definitively ascertain the role of humans in the megafaunal extinction debate in Australia.     

Making time for national identity: theoretical concept and empirical glance on the temporal performance of national identity

Despite global, economic, technological and social transformations, nationality has remained an influential identity category. It still forms the basis for collective self‐determination, political sovereignty and sense of belonging. This article puts forward the concept of ‘Chrono‐Work’ to offer a critical approach to national identity. Employing temporal and performative perspectives, the concept addresses the conditions for establishing and constructing national identity. Drawing on Judith Butler's performance theory, it is suggested that performance of national acts loads national identity with meaning through the construction of a chronological narrative. To complete the theoretical picture, a case study of ‘Chrono‐Work’ among the Jewish settlers on the Golan Heights in Israel is offered. It is shown that national identity is constantly performed through temporal strategies that aim at achieving a chronological order. Therefore, it is suggested that national identity is not given, but rather is the result of continuous ‘Chrono‐Work’.     

Elections,contemporary history,policy and ideology: Current writing on Mrs Thatcher

Andrew Gamble, The Free Economy and the Strong State: The Politics of Thatcherism. Macmillan Education, Basingstoke, 1988, pp.263 + xii, $21.95 (paper).

Stuart Hall, The Hard Road to Renewal: Thatcherism and the Crisis of the Left. Verso, London, 1988, pp.283 + vii, $29.95 (paper).

Martin Harrop and Andrew Shaw, Can Labour Win? The Fabian Series, Unwin Hyman, London, 1989, pp.143 + x, $16.95 (paper).

Peter Jenkins, Mrs Thatcher's Revolution: The Ending of the Socialist Era. Pan Books, London, 1988, pp.417 + xxxviii, $14.99 (paper).

Bob Jessop, Kevin Bonnett, Simon Bromley and Tom Ling, Thatcherism: A Tale of Two Nations. Polity Press in association with Basil Blackwell, Cambridge, 1988, pp.219 + viii, $25.95 (paper).

Dennis Kavanagh and Peter Morris, Consensus Politics from Attlee to Thatcher, Making Contemporary Britain. Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1989, pp.137 + xvii, $23.95 (paper).

Dennis Kavanagh and Anthony Seldon (eds.), The Thatcher Effect. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1989, pp.355 + xvii, $23.95 (paper).

Kenneth Minogue and Michael Biddiss (eds.), Thatcherism: Personality and Politics. Macmillan, Basingstoke, 1987, pp.144 + xvii, $29.95 (paper).

Richard Rose and Ian McAllister, The Loyalties of Voters: A Lifetime Learning Model. Sage, London, 1990, pp.215 + xii, $22.90 (Paper).

Robert Skidelsky, Thatcherism. Chatto and Windus, London, 1988, pp.214, $29.95.

Leonard Tivey, Interpretations of British Politics: The Image and the System. Harvester Wheatsheaf, Hemel Hempstead, 1988, pp.168 + x, $30.95 (paper).

Hugo Young, One of Us. Macmillan, London, 1989, pp.570 + ix, $39.95.     

Sites,sacredness, and stories: Interactions of archaeology and contemporary paganism

Folklore has, until very recently, been at the fringes of archaeological research. Post-processual archaeology has promoted plurality in interpretation, however, and archaeology more widely is required to make itself relevant to contemporary society; so, contemporary folkloric practices vis-a`-vis archaeological remains are once again receiving attention. In this paper we examine contemporary Pagan understandings of and engagements with “sacred sites” in England. Specifically, we explore how Pagan meanings are inscribed and constituted, how they draw on “traditional” understandings of sites and landscapes, and instances in which they challenge or reify the “preservation ethic” of heritage management. From active interactions with sites, such as votive offerings and instances of fire and graffiti damage, to unconventional (contrasted with academic) interpretations of sites involving wights and spirit beings, Neolithic shamans, or goddesses, there are diverse areas of contest. We argue archaeology must not reject Pagan and other folklores as “fringe,” but, in an era of community archaeology, transparency and collaboration, respond to them, preferably dialogically.     

Demonstrating for a Kosovo Republic in Switzerland: emotions,national identity and performance

National ceremonies are often designated as a means of crafting or strengthening the ‘national identity’ of the participants, thanks to their potentially emotional effects. This article seeks to examine in greater detail the relationship between emotions, ‘national identity’ and performance. First, it presents evidence from the literature to demonstrate the crucial role played by emotions in the process of national identification, then highlights the conditions responsible for generating these. Second, it explores these issues by adopting an oral history approach in relation to the demonstrations organised by Albanian‐speaking migrants from Yugoslavia in Switzerland in the 1980s. This approach makes it possible to explore issues from the participants' own perspective. The marchers' narratives not only provide a taste of the demonstrations' excitement but also provide clues about the conditions that lead to the emotions they experienced. They are particularly insistent about locating the demonstrations within a much broader life picture.     

Conceptions of place: approaching space,children and physical activity

In this paper, we argue that place mapping is useful for approaching children's conception of place and that this is of relevance when designing physical activity interventions. We contend that socio-material factors influence children's perception and use of places, and are crucial to understand in relation to their use of local neighbourhoods for physical activity. A place mapping of children's understandings and everyday use of their local neighbourhood in suburban Copenhagen was conducted with a fifth grade elementary school class. The mapping and subsequent analysis resulted in three categories of relevance to children's conceptions of place; located social experiences, experiences of the unknown, and children's contested spaces. We argue that such knowledge can provide useful information in the development and evaluation of activities that promote physical activity in urban spaces.     

Defining the OE hearg: a preliminary archaeological and topographic examination of hearg place names and their hinterlands

The OE term hearg is interpreted variously as ‘pagan temple’, ‘hilltop sanctuary’ and even ‘idol’. It is a rare survival in the English place‐name record. When it can be identified, the place name is commonly considered to refer to a location of pre‐Christian religious activity, specifically a pagan Anglo‐Saxon temple. Taking inspiration from the extensive and methodologically well‐advanced studies in Scandinavia, which have successfully related place‐name evidence for cultic and religious sites with the archaeology and topography of these localities, this paper adopts and uses a similar methodology to investigate the archaeological and topographic character of a selection of hearg locations. The traditional interpretations of the place name are questioned and evidence is presented that these sites are characterized by long‐lived, localized cult practice spanning the late prehistoric to early historic periods, but with activity reaching a zenith in the late Iron Age to Romano‐British eras, rather than the fifth to seventh centuries AD.     

Introduction: space,place and the geographies of women's caregiving work

The vast majority of caregivers, whether formal or informal, paid or unpaid, are women. Health care restructuring across the West, inspired by a shift from the welfare to neoliberal state, has greatly impacted caregiving. The idea for this collection arose as a result of a special paper session on the geographies of caregiving, held as part of the Association of American Geographers Meeting (Chicago, 2006). In hearing the papers presented, it became clear that geographers are engaged in interesting and innovative research in this area, much of which involves women's caregiving work in particular. As both unpaid informal family caregiving and paid formal practitioner-provided care are mainly addressed in this collection, they are briefly discussed in this editorial. This is followed by a discussion of the geographical contributions to the growing caregiving literature, which provides the foundation for an overview of ongoing and new research directions. The four articles that make up this special issue are then reviewed in brief. Finally, we identify issues that cut across all four articles, leading to a discussion of future research directions.     

Migration,age, and education: a cross-sectional analysis of geographic labor mobility in Japan

"This paper presents some new empirical evidence on the determinants of prefecture-to-city migration in Japan, using a model based on the human capital-search theoretic approach." Several hypotheses relating the rate of migration to age, education, distance moved, and earnings are tested, and the applicability of the theoretical framework to the analysis of labor migration in Japan is evaluated. Data are from the 1970 census and the 1968 Employment Status Survey.