An Overview of Maritime Archaeological Research of the Colonial Period in the French Antilles

This article provides a summary of the various maritime archaeology projects undertaken in the French Antilles (Guadeloupe and Martinique) since the 1980s that date to the 17th–19th century Colonial period. These projects are presented in the context of the principal maritime archaeological research questions. The results are analysed thematically touching on different aspects of archaeological research in littoral and underwater zones: coastal plantations, ports, and micro‐islets. Research carried out on wreck‐sites is presented with respect to their maritime use (commercial, naval, and cabotage). The nature and distribution of such sites provides information both on maritime routes and traffic, trade, conflicts, and environmental risks specific to the Antilles in the Colonial period.     

‘The final decision is with the patient’: reproductive modernity and preferences for non-hormonal and non-biomedical contraceptives among postpartum middle class women in Yogyakarta,Indonesia

In Indonesia fertility has plateaued for more than a decade. Over the same period Indonesian women have increasingly accessed contraception via the private sector. Our qualitative inquiry into the contraceptive preferences of middle class women in urban Yogyakarta revealed limited interest in and intent to use biomedical and hormonal contraceptive methods. Women’s justifications for their contraceptive choices were complex and manifold: most had concerns about safety and the side effects associated with hormonal and biomedical contraceptives; others were ideologically opposed to fertility control. We conclude that contraceptive choices were an embodiment of women’s reproductive modernity, which in turn underpinned their reproductive agency. We also problematise the extent to which women’s contraceptive choices were comprehensively informed. Women’s reproductive modernity was shaped by their socioeconomic status; access to modern communication technologies; understandings of their right to health and contraceptive choice; pious yet pragmatic religious identities; and negotiations within their marital relationships.     

Matthew Flinders through French Eyes: Nicolas Baudin’s Lessons from Encounter Bay

The encounter between Nicolas Baudin and Matthew Flinders off the south coast of New Holland in April 1802 has attracted considerable attention. For many, it has come to symbolise the triumph of the spirit of international scientific cooperation over national rivalries and personal ambitions. Scholarly analysis of the complexities of the encounter moment itself has, however, served to modify this idealised image. The injustice subsequently done to Flinders by François Péron and Louis de Freycinet, who failed to acknowledge his discoveries on this coast in the published account of the French voyage, has also generated much discussion. The impact of the encounter on Baudin and his men, on the other hand, has not been subjected to the same scrutiny. Through a close examination of the archival documentation, this essay offers the French perspective on Matthew Flinders and highlights the ramifications for the Baudin expedition of this fateful meeting with him.     

Toronto's gay village (1969–1982): plotting the politics of gay identity

Between the late 1960s and the early 1980s, a loose association of gay social spaces consolidated into what is now known as the 'gay village' in the Church and Wellesley street areas in downtown Toronto. Scholars argue that, while these residential and commercial districts evolved prior to the formation of organized gay political organizations, they suggest that the emergence of these districts as political and commercial districts was a direct result of deliberate local gay activism. I argue here that contrary to this literature and for much of its history, the gay movement was largely opposed to the existence of specifically gay-identified spaces, particularly those operated by both heterosexual and homosexual businesspersons. Toronto's gay activists, using different ideological frameworks, struggled to constitute a homosexual identity that stood mainly in opposition to the so-called 'ghetto gay' and to construct alternative spaces that were seen as more appropriate to the formation of a properly politicized homosexual identity. Nevertheless, by the early 1980s, as the gay village continued to thrive and as the players in gay movement politics changed, the gay ghetto became the gay village and was celebrated as a location of political strength and social necessity. This article explores that material and symbolic transformation.     

The Implications of Parenting Standards in Child Protection: A Paradox in Disability Policy

Contemporary parenting standards in the field of child protection produce a paradox in disability policy. Focusing on the protections necessary for child safety, child protection workers are apt stereotypically to discount the abilities of parents with disabilities to raise their children. This situation runs a wide spectrum. It includes parents fully capable of parenting with no outside assistance who are nevertheless denied their children on the basis of completely baseless stereotypical assumptions. It includes parents who are mentally fully capable of parenting, but who are denied the necessary personal assistance services to perform the physical tasks of child care. This article, however, focuses on yet another situation: parents with mental, emotional, or cognitive disabilities who, without assistance to perform the cognitive tasks necessary for safely raising children, could neglect their children. It discusses this situation in light of the Americans with Disabilities Act and various state laws that protect the civil rights of persons with disabilities.     

REVIEWS

Middle Wahgi Dictionary. By Evelyn M. Ramsey. Church of the Nazarene, Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea. 1975. 457 pp.