Book reviews

Drawing on methodologies and theories used to understand forms of material culture, this paper traces the spatio-temporal lives of a group of medicine chests manufactured by Burroughs Wellcome and Co., the business co-founded by Henry Wellcome which is now known as GlaxoSmithKline. The paper examines the biographical, historical and commercial histories connected with these objects. In particular, it considers how the chests became embroiled within narratives of progress and modernity associated with the production and promotion of ‘modern’ pharmaceuticals and the establishment of a collection of objects through which Wellcome attempted to trace the ‘history of medicine and mankind’ from evolutionary perspectives. Using empirical research from a variety of contexts, the paper therefore reflects on how the chests’ circulation, use and display shed light on historical geographies of science, collecting, commerce and empire in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Le parcours des pharmacies portatives à travers le monde: esquisse sur les géographies de la cueillette et des produits pharmaceutiques

En s'appuyant sur des méthodologies et des théories qui servent à comprendre les formes de culture matérielle, cet article esquisse les vies spatiales et temporelles d'un ensemble de pharmacies portatives fabriquées par l'entreprise Burroughs Wellcome et cie, cofondée par Henry Wellcome et qui est connue aujourd'hui sous le nom de GlaxoSmithKline. Cet article aborde sous les angles biographique, historique et commercial les histoires associées à ces objet. Il se penche en particulier sur la façon dont les pharmacies se sont mêlées aux récits sur le progrès et la modernité liés à la production et la promotion de produits pharmaceutiques «modernes» et à la constitution d'une collection d'objets à partir desquels Wellcome a tenté d'esquisser dans une optique évolutive une «histoire de la médecine et de l'humanité». [Agrave] partir de recherches empiriques issues d'un large éventail de contextes, cet article examine donc comment la diffusion, l'usage et la présentation des pharmacies peuvent donner des renseignements sur les géographies historiques de la science, de la cueillette, du commerce et de l'empire à la fin du dix-neuvième et au début du vingtième siècle.

Mots-clefs: géographies historiques de la culture matérielle, cueillette, commerce, empire, histoires de la science, de la médecine et des produits pharmaceutiques, biographie.

Botiquines de medicina trotamundos: análisis de las geografías de coleccionar y farmacéuticos

Haciendo uso de metodologías y teorías que se emplea para entender formas de cultura material, este papel detalla las vidas espacio-temporales de un grupo de botiquines de medicina, fabricados por Burroughs Wellcome and Co., una empresa cofundada por Henry Wellcome, que hoy en día es conocida como GlaxoSmithKline. El papel examina las historias biográficas, históricas y comerciales relacionadas con estos objetos. En particular, considera cómo los botiquines llegaron a verse envueltos en narrativas de progreso y modernidad, asociadas con la producción y promoción de farmacéuticos modernos y el establecimiento de una colección de objetos, por los cuales Wellcome pretendía detallar la ‘historia de la medicina y del hombre’ desde perspectivas evolucionarias. Haciendo uso de investigaciones empíricas de varios contextos, el papel considera cómo la circulación, el uso y la exposición de los botiquines revela las geografías históricas de ciencia, coleccionar, comercio e imperios en la última parte del siglo 19 y la primera parte del siglo 20.

Palabras claves: geografías históricas de la cultura material, coleccionar, comercio, imperio, Historias de ciencia, medicina y farmacéuticos, biografía.     

Rome’s Uncomfortable Heritage: Dealing with History in the Aftermath of WWII

Rome is a city famed for its outstanding cultural heritage stretching back two and a half thousand years. However, the events of the Second World War raise particular problems in dealing with this patrimony. This article examines the issues raises by the monuments built during the Fascist period and the Roman remains excavated by the Fascists. It also examines how commemoration throughout the city since 1945 reflects the changing attitudes to the war. The article argues that Rome has not yet come to terms with its Fascist past and that this constitutes a barrier to a sustainable heritage plan.     

MakingGüeras: Selling white identities on late-night Mexican television

This article examines discourses of whiteness and color in Mexico through a discussion of White Secret, a widely available skin-lightening cosmetic product. In an analysis of a televised infomercial advertising the product, we examine contextualizations of whiteness in Mexico, as figured through the product's representations of light-skinned female bodies and advanced cosmetic technology. We consider the ways that White Secret can speak to broader conceptualizations of whiteness and identity and, furthermore, argue that such an engagement points to the need to interrogate the geographical and epistemological limits of current understandings of whiteness based in Anglo-American and Latin-American contexts.

Creando güeras: La venta de identidades blancas en la televisión Mexicana de media noche En este artículo, hacemos un análisis sobre los discursos de ‘blancura’ y de color con respecto a la población en México a través de una discusión sobre ‘White Secret’, un producto cosmético para aclarar la piel que es muy disponible en México. Por un análisis de un ‘info-nuncio’ que sale por la televisión anunciando el producto ‘White Secret’, exploramos los entretejemientos de la construcción de blancura en México y como este ‘info-nuncio’ manipula imágenes de los cuerpos de güeras (mujeres de piel clara) y tecnología cosmética avanzada. Reflexionamos acerca de las maneras que el producto ‘White Secret’ pueda hablar a concepciones más amplias sobre la construcción de identidad y blancura y además, discutimos que tal exploración indica la necesidad de interrogar los limites epistemológicos y geográficos de la comprensión actual de la construcción de blancura basados en los contextos Latino Americanos y Anglo Americanos.     

Book reviews

The United States and Iran: The Patterns of Influence. By R. K. Ramazani. New York: Praeger, 1982. 179 pp.

Iran, A Revolution in Turmoil. Edited by Haleh Afshar. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 1985. xvi + 253 pp. + index.

War, Revolution & British Imperialism in Central Asia. By Frederick Stanwood. London: Ithaca Press, 1983. vi + 261 pp. £12.50.

The Prison Papers of Bozorg Alavi: A Literary Odyssey. By Donne Raffat. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1985. xi + 246 pp.; no index or bibliography.

From Iran East & West: Studies in Babi and Baha'i History. Edited by Juan R. Cole and Moojan Momen. Los Angeles: Kalimat Press, 1984. xiii + 205 pp.

Loyalty and Leadership in an Early Islamic Society. By Roy P. Mottahedeh. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980. xi + 209 pp.

The Women's Rights Movement in Iran; Mutiny, Appeasement and Repression from 1900 to Khomeini. By Eliz Sanasarian. New York: Praeger, 1982. 172 pp. + i‐xiii, including index and bibliography.     

Implications of climate change for glacier tourism

For more than 100 years, the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers in Westland Tai Poutini National Park have attracted thousands of tourists annually and have emerged as iconic destinations in New Zealand. However, in recent years, the recession of both glaciers has been increasingly rapid and the impacts on, and implications for, visitor experiences in these settings remain relatively unexplored. A mixed-method approach was adopted to investigate visitor experiences and stakeholder perspectives through an assessment of climate-related changes on tourism at the glaciers in Westland Tai Poutini National Park. The bio-physical conditions at both the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers were reviewed in order to assess the magnitude and rate of retreat. Perceptions of climate change risk and awareness of impacts in the National Park were assessed through stakeholder interviews (n = 13) and a visitor survey (n = 500) was used to better understand how impacts at these sites have affected and may continue to affect visitor experiences. Research results were reported to local communities via a series of public talks. Results revealed the fundamental importance of viewing the glaciers as a significant travel motive of visitors, suggesting that there is a ‘last chance’ dimension to their experience. Furthermore, the results demonstrate a high adaptive capacity of local tourism operators under rapidly changing environmental conditions. The implications of altered visitor experiences for tourism operators and protected area managers are discussed in light of these findings.     

Reviews

THE ARMS RACE‐A Programme for World Disarmament, by Philip Noel‐Baker. (Atlantic Books, Stevens and Sons Ltd., London. 579 PP.)

CHINESE THOUGHT AND INSTITUTIONS, edited by John K. Fairbank. (The University of Chicago Press, 1957, pp. 458. Price $8.50.)

THE ROOTS OF AMERICAN COMMUNISM, by Theodore Draper. (Viking Press, New York; 1957; 393 pp + 99.)

DOMINION OF THE NORTH: A HISTORY OF CANADA, by Donald Creighton. Revised ed. Macmillan, 1958. Pp. IX + 619.

DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS IN THE WORLD TODAY, ed. by Werner Burmeister, published under auspices of the London Institute of World ASaiis, by Stevens & Sons Ltd., London, 1958.

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, by Paul Reuter, translated by]. M. Chapman. (London. George Allan & Unwin. 1958. 316 pp.)     

Mexico's stalled peace process: prospects and challenges

High hopes were raised when Vicente Fox Quesada of the National Action Party (PAN) was elected President of Mexico in July 2000. After three years of inaction, the possibility that the nation's stalled peace process might once again recommence suddenly seemed plausible. With the announcement in December 2000 by the rebel Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) of three preconditions prior to any dialogue taking place, a clear trajectory was set. Four months later, however, all contact with the rebels had been broken and once again Mexico's peace process was in jeopardy. This article recounts the brief history of talks to date and explains how the current impasse has been reached. Identifying both prospects and challenges for any future peace deal, the author calls for greater international vigilance and understanding of a conflict with significant political and ethical implications.     

What's a School Worth to a Neighborhood? A Spatial Hedonic Analysis of Property Prices in the Context of Accommodation Reviews in Ontario

Due to a change in capital funding formula, many school boards across the Province of Ontario engaged in Accommodation Reviews to rationalize the supply of school capacity. This process led to numerous school closures and raised important policy questions regarding the economic value of a school in terms of its capitalization into property values and, by extension, how the closure of a school might affect local neighborhoods. To explore these questions, this research uses spatial hedonic methods to estimate the implicit value of accessibility to schools in the City of Hamilton, Ontario. Spatial Durbin model results provide evidence of a significant negative correlation between distance to schools and housing prices in the Canadian context. This suggests that accessibility to schools is capitalized into property values and that the closure of a neighborhood school may result in potentially significant losses of economic value in communities.