Thomas Arnold,Christian Manliness and the Problem of Boyhood

Thomas Arnold is a well-known character in Victorian Studies. His life and work are usually discussed in relation to his role as Headmaster of Rugby School and the development of the English public school system. His importance in the history of Victorian manliness has, by contrast, been somewhat obscured. When scholars do comment on his highly influential idea of Christian manliness, they tend to assume it was an overtly gendered ideal, opposed to a well-developed notion of effeminacy. A closer study of Arnold's thought and writings, as well as the reflections of his contemporaries and pupils, reveals rather that his understanding of manliness was structured primarily around an opposition between moral maturity on the one hand and immoral boyishness on the other. As this article argues, one of Arnold's chief concerns at Rugby was to ‘anticipate’ or ‘hasten’ the onset of moral manhood in his pupils. Moreover, his discussion of manliness in his role as Headmaster was closely connected to his work as a historian – another neglected aspect of Arnold's career. Inspired, above all, by the Italian philosopher Giovanni Battista Vico, Arnold's historical writing is punctuated by the Vichian concept that nations, like individuals, pass through distinct stages of maturity, from infancy, through childhood, manhood, age and decrepitude. A close reading of Arnold's school sermons and other works on the peculiar dangers of boyhood suggests clearly that his historical writing inspired the notions of moral manliness and vicious boyhood that underpinned much of his educational thought.     

The Later Jefferson and the Problem of Natural Rights

Abstract

The late Jefferson presents a puzzle to scholars. In his last years the author of the Declaration of Independence strongly opposed the Missouri Compromise and set important precedents for the political strategy of the antebellum South. This essay argues that these problematic aspects of Jefferson's career are more closely linked to his natural rights doctrine than is generally recognized and extend tendencies already present in Jefferson's draft of the Declaration. Unlike previous scholars who explain Jefferson's problematic politics by his racism or the inherent selfishness of Lockean natural right, I argue that the core flaw in Jefferson's natural rights doctrine is the encouragement it gives to self-righteousness. Because he responded to the problem of slavery in a spirit of angry self-defense, Jefferson's understanding of natural rights blinded him to the ways in which his actions strengthened slavery and undermined his own most cherished political achievements.     

Specialized Salt Production During the Ancient Maya Classic Period at Two Paynes Creek Salt Works,Belize: Chan b’i and Atz’aam Na

Underwater excavations at the Classic period (a.d. 300–900) ancient Maya salt works of Chan b’i and Atz’aam Na in Paynes Creek National Park, Belize, reveal activity areas associated with a substantial salt industry for distribution to nearby southern Maya inland sites where this biological requirement was scarce. Wooden architecture and salt making artifacts are abundantly preserved in a peat bog composed of red mangrove. Excavations, screening, and analysis of recovered material at the submerged underwater sites reveal that the artifacts are overwhelmingly briquetage: pottery vessels used to evaporate salty water by heating over fires to make salt. The spatial distribution of briquetage in relation to the interior and exterior of buildings reveals that salt production was occurring indoors. The plethora of briquetage and the scarcity of domestic artifacts indicate that the sites were specialized salt works and not physically attached to households.     

Reaping ‘rewards’ in sickle use-wear analysis

Recently in their research Goodale et al. (2010) as well as that of Vardi et al. (2010) independently tackled issues of effectively measuring attrition/gloss rates on sickle blade tools from Southwest Asia. Interestingly, while applying new methodology to analyzing sickle tools from different cultural and temporal contexts, these two papers arrived at a similar conclusion: sickle tools were likely very expensive to make, and thus, considerations were made during their production to ensure long use-lives to benefit the people who made and used them in prehistory. Stemp et al. (in this issue) provide a methodological critique of both studies. In addressing their critique we make several points. First it is important to note that Stemp et al. provide no new experimental analysis to justify their assertions, and their critique is ultimately, at best, guesswork. Second, the minimal reanalysis of the data Stemp et al. do conduct arguably lead to the same preliminary conclusion at which we originally arrived: the prehistoric sickle blades we examined were used longer than those we replicated. As stated in our original paper, lithic use-wear studies often do not address issue of reliable and reproducible methods. We believe that our original study helps fill this missing component, and that measuring edge thickness is much less subjective than conventional features on stone tools traditionally identified microscopically. From our perspective, Stemp et al. present largely unsupported critical commentary, lacking substantial reanalysis or experiments to complement or justify their commentary. In the end Stemp et al. provide little more than interesting ideas and conjecture.