Nation‐building through discourse theory

Abstract. The article sets out to demonstrate the value of discourse theory for studying nationalism as an ideology. It looks at the debate surrounding the concept of discourse and its manifold meanings before examining Laclau and Mouffe's discourse theory, with particular reference to the concept of hegemony and the influence of Gramsci on their work. This leads to a discussion of the relevance of discourse theory to a study of nationalist ideology, especially the antagonistic dynamic between nation‐state and minority nationalisms. Not only does discourse theory serve to embed the omnipresence of ideology within a useful hierarchy of mega and micro discourse, but it also provides a conceptual toolbox for analysing nationalist ideology at the empirical level.     

The Story of Jimmy: the Practice of History on North Pentecost,Vanuatu1

The Story of Jimmy is a frequently told oral‐historical account of ‘first contact’ from North Pentecost, Vanuatu. It describes the adventures of a group of ni‐Vanuatu plantation labourers who escape from Fiji by hijacking a ship and navigate a return to their home islands in Vanuatu. Central to the story is a young white man, known simply as Jimmy. Unwittingly forced to make the journey with them, and before they are all finally shipwrecked on the east coast of North Pentecost, Jimmy witnesses the murder and cannibalisation of his father by the starving hijackers. Yet upon departing for home some four years later he bestows a new name upon the Island: Uretabe, the ‘world of love/gifts’. This story, with its dual‐inverted narrative of abduction, transformation, escape and return, presents a remarkable account at a unique moment of historical rupture and cross‐cultural exchange. In doing so it also expresses idiomatic themes of mobility, place and identity as they relate to the politics of both the colonial past and postcolonial present in North Pentecost. This paper explores those themes and narratives while considering their relevance to my own experiences as a researcher in the area.     

Foucault's and Arendt's "insider view" of biopolitics: a critique of Agamben

This article revisits Arendt's and Foucault's converging accounts of modern (bio)politics and the entry of biological life into politics. Agamben's influential account of these ideas is rejected as a misrepresentation both because it de-historicizes biological/organic life and because it occludes the positivity of that life and thus the discursive appeal and performative force of biopolitics. Through attention to the genealogy of Arendt's and Foucault's own ideas we will see that the major point of convergence in their thinking is their insistence upon understanding biological thinking from the inside, in terms of its positivity. Agamben's assessment of modern politics is closer to Arendt's than it is to Foucault's and this marks a fascinating point of disagreement between Arendt and Foucault. Whereas Arendt sees the normalizing force of modern society as being in total opposition to individuality, Foucault posits totalization and individuation as processes of normation, which casts a light upon the relative import they place upon politics and ethics.     

William James on a phenomenological psychology of immediate experience: the true foundation for a science of consciousness?

Throughout his career, William James defended personal consciousness. In his "Principles of Psychology" (1890), he declared that psychology is the scientific study of states of consciousness as such and that he intended to presume from the outset that the thinker was the thought. But while writing it, he had been investigating a dynamic psychology of the subconscious, which found a major place in his Gifford Lectures, published as "The Varieties of Religious Experience" in 1902. This was the clearest statement James was able to make before he died with regard to his developing tripartite metaphysics of pragmatism, pluralism and radical empiricism, which essentially asked "Is a science of consciousness actually possible?" James's lineage in this regard, was inherited from an intuitive psychology of character formation that had been cast within a context of spiritual self-realization by the Swedenborgians and Transcendentalists of New England. Chief among these was his father, Henry James, Sr., and his godfather, Ralph Waldo Emerson. However, james was forced to square these ideas with the more rigorous scientific dictates of his day, which have endured to the present. As such, his ideas remain alive and vibrant, particularly among those arguing for the fusion of phenomenology, embodiment and cognitive neuroscience in the renewed search for a science of consciousness.     

Ancient DNA (aDNA) studies of man and microbes: general similarities,specific differences

The study of ancient DNA (aDNA) using molecular methods is an increasingly valuable tactic in bioarchaeology. While this method must be carefully undertaken to ensure that the molecules detected are representative of the ancient sample and not modern contaminates, there is a danger that a ‘one size fits all’ approach to validation will lead to misinterpretation and/or missed opportunities of valuable findings. When comparing human and pathogen aDNA, there are many shared technical means that can ensure best practice. However, there are a number of assumptions that should not be used for both scenarios. We discuss these aspects in reference to a recent article published by this journal and highlight some of the latest advances in molecular detection of ancient pathogen DNA that can further improve this endeavour. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.