What do women want in the 1990s? Feminism and stories of love and desire

Ernaux, A., Passion simple (Gallimard, 1992), 80pp., 60F., ISBN 2 070 72504 9     

The Development of a Scientific Understanding of Synesthesia from Early Case Studies (1849–1873)

The first case of synesthesia was reported in 1812 (Jewanski, Day, & Ward, 2009 Jewanski, J, Day, SA and Ward, J. 2009. A colorful albino: The first documented case of synesthesia, by Georg Tobias Ludwig Sachs in 1812. Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 18: 293–303. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). However, it took almost seven decades before the idea of synesthesia entered the mainstream of science and, subsequently, art. There are no known new cases described between 1812 and 1848, but in the following three decades there are at least 11 reported cases of synesthesia and many reviews of these cases. This comes at an important period in the history of the neurosciences, and for sensory physiology in particular. However, the literature that describes synesthesia during this period is largely unknown to contemporary researchers and historians. The aim of this review is to discuss the reports of synesthesia during this period, providing translations of some key passages, and to place these reports within the contextual framework of nineteenth-century neuroscience.     

Lucayan–Taíno burials from Preacher's cave,Eleuthera, Bahamas

In March 2007, three prehistoric skeletons were excavated and analysed from Preacher's Cave on the northern aspect of the island of Eleuthera in the Bahama archipelago. The human skeletal remains represent two males and one female dating to AD 800–1300. The first is a female in the 30s with mild osteoarthritis of the joints and spine and several healed fractures who may have been an important community elder. The second is a male in the 20s with Schmorl's nodes who may have been a shaman or even a victim of interpersonal violence. The third is a male in the mid to late 20s also with marginal osteoarthritis of the joints and spine who may have been a ceremonial leader and village headman. The high incidence of carious lesions implies a cariogenic diet possibly rich in starchy foodstuffs or even fructose. The presence of grave goods and plaited mats suggest that at least two individuals may have been of high status. This study emphasises the significance of caves to Lucayan–Taíno mythology, cosmology and mortuary practice. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Teaching foreign policy analysis in Australia: on cultivating an ‘FPA disposition’

ABSTRACT

The United States-centric nature of the Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) subfield poses a range of pedagogical challenges, especially when the subject is taught outside North America. The preponderance of FPA literature written by US scholars and examining US cases can frustrate non-US students, who often wish to study decisions they consider more directly relevant to their own region and experience. I this piece, I reflect on how I have grappled with this tension in teaching a postgraduate FPA course at the Australian National University. I discuss my choice to prioritise cultivating an ‘FPA disposition’ among students and how, as a means of doing so, I chose to design a curriculum based on a semester-long case study examining the US decision to invade Iraq in 2003. While this pedagogical approach may initially seem contradictory to my long-term aim of contributing to the expansion of FPA beyond North America, it reflects my conviction that instilling an ‘FPA disposition’ in the next generation of graduate students is essential to growing and enriching the subfield in the long term.