Shrinkage,Metropolization and Peripheralization in East Germany

Since around 2000, there has been extensive research on questions regarding shrinkage and urban renewal in Germany after a task force report revealed approximately 1.4 million vacant flats in East Germany. Since then, most towns and cities have been labelled “shrinking cities” there. While from a planning perspective urban decline and also shrinking cities are widely studied phenomena throughout the industrialized world and a substantial literature exists on the phenomenon in Germany, the impact of political debates and normative considerations is under-researched. This paper highlights the role of political–normative ideas of metropolization and societal relations within this complex core–periphery process, elaborating on the concept of peripheralization and calling for further research.     

Demography and the intensity of cultural activities: an evaluation of Funnel Beaker Societies (4200–2800 cal BC)

The Early and Middle Neolithic in Northern Central Europe and Southern Scandinavia is characterised by substantial changes in economic technology as well as in material culture in different periods. One of the main drivers for social development, but also for anthropogenic changes in the environment, is surely shifts in population density. To evaluate group sizes and population density we need archaeological proxies. Similar to other studies, we use ¹⁴C dates to reconstruct the intensity of prehistoric activities. A comparison of the human impact from pollen data with a quantification based on ¹⁴C dates proves a correlation which supports our appreciation of the value of sum-calibrated probabilities of radiometric measurements as a proxy for demographic developments. The large amount of usable dates in this study not only enables us to draw general conclusions on a supraregional level, but also makes it possible for us to compare the character of different areas on a regional scale. As a result, we reconstruct a significant rise in population between 4100 and 3500 cal BC and a degression around 3350–3100 cal BC, followed by a reiterated increase for the Funnel Beaker West and North Groups. On the Danish Isles, as well as in the Funnel Beaker North Eastern Group, different tendencies are observable.     

A Hero's Many Faces – Raoul Wallenberg in Contemporary Monuments

Patriarchy and gendered power relations have been the focus of scholars of masculinity, but fatherhood, one of the most intimate aspects of masculine identity and an essential element in men's social roles, has gained relatively little attention among medievalists. Elements of being a father, like emotional ties, caregiving and commitment to one's family, form the core of this article. The focus is on the contestants of the traditional concepts linked with masculinity and patriarchy: domination, competition and aggression. The main question is how gendered identity was constructed within lived religion, or, how fatherhood and masculinity were linked. The author argues that collaboration between spouses, commitment to one's children and devotion were important elements in constructing adult lay masculinity in the depositions of canonization processes carried out in late-medieval Sweden. The most important element in being an adult man was not the separation from women but the separation from immature boys. To invoke a saint for one's offspring, even if it required inversion of traditional modes of manifestation of manliness, was a statement of masculine identity: an assurance of respectability, responsibility and commitment.     

How much did a Swedish Schoolhouse Cost to Build? Rewriting the history of 19th-century rural schoolhouses

How much did the 19^th-century rural schoolhouse cost to build? On the basis of a study of schoolhouse building in the Sundsvall region in the period 1842–1900, this article shows how the cost of school buildings increased over time, both overall and by schoolhouse, largely because of the marginalization of cheaper and simpler redevelopment projects, as well as the construction of a number of more expensive schoolhouses. Through the use of extensive source material, preserved from the building of 66 schoolhouses, a more detailed analysis of these developments has demonstrated differences in price levels between purchased schoolhouses, redevelopments of existing buildings and new building projects, and buildings intended for different types of schools. Insights are also given into labour and material costs. In addition to establishing basic facts about a main feature of the expanding system of mass education, this study thus makes a reinterpretation of the 19^th-century rural schoolhouse which emphasizes new patterns of development and fundamental distinctions, presenting schoolhouses as a social and economic issue, rather than an architectural or pedagogical concern. Instead of being described as rather simple buildings, in comparison with the major buildings in the cities, schoolhouses thus appear as a major item of expenditure for local government.     

BETWEEN GENOCIDE AND “GENOCIDE”

The two books discussed here join a current pushback against the concept (thus also against claims for the historical occurrence) of genocide. Nichanian focuses on the Armenian “Aghed” (“Catastrophe”), inferring from his view of that event's undeniability that “genocide is not a fact” (since all facts are deniable). May's critique assumes that groups don't really—“objectively”—exist, as (by contrast) individuals do; thus, genocide—group murder—also has an “as if” quality so far as concerns the group victimized. On the one hand, then, uniqueness and sacralization; on the other hand, reductionism and diffusion. Alas, the historical and moral claims in “defense” of both genocide and “genocide” survive.     

Value chains, networks and clusters: reframing the global automotive industry

In this article, we apply global value chain (GVC) analysisto recent trends in the global automotive industry, with specialattention paid to the case of North America. We use the threemain elements of the GVC framework—firm-level chain governance,power and institutions—to highlight some of the definingcharacteristics of this important industry. First, nationalpolitical institutions create pressure for local content, whichdrives production close to end markets, where it tends to beorganized nationally or regionally. Second, in terms of GVCgovernance, rising product complexity combined with low codifiabilityand a paucity of industry-level standards has driven buyer–supplierlinkages toward the relational form, a governance mode thatis more compatible with Japanese than American supplier relations.The outsourcing boom of the 1990s exacerbated this situation.As work shifted to the supply base, lead firms and supplierswere forced to develop relational linkages to support the exchangeof complex uncodified information and tacit knowledge. Finally,the small number of hugely powerful lead firms that drive theautomotive industry helps to explain why it has been so difficultto develop and set the industry-level standards that could underpina more loosely articulated spatial architecture. This case studyunderlines the need for an open, scalable approach to the studyof global industries.