Oral/Past Culture and Modern Technical Means in the Literature of the Twentieth Century in Greenland

Abstract

The present article takes as its starting point a short story from 2001 and relates it to the development of the Greenlandic literature in the twentieth century. The Greenlandic literature evolved around 1900 and mirrors the socio-political trends and the stages of nation building through the twentieth century. The overall tendencies of the century start with a striving towards more knowledge of and competence in European culture (including technical know-how) before 1950. Then a feeling of overwhelming impact from Danish culture followed during the Danification policy of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and this resulted in a protest movement in the 1960s and 1970s and Home Rule from 1979. However, if we read the literature in details and supplement it with the contemporary newspapers a much more diverse picture of an appropriation process (i.e. a conscious adaptation of selective parts of the impact from outside) emerges. The present article focuses on how these sources give us glimpses of an ongoing debate already in the first half of the twentieth century i.e. in colonial times: the Greenlandic population was not just passively under colonial domination. The history of the twentieth century is the history about a fairly well functioning appropriation of technical means and cultural impact from outside up till 1950, and then – after three decades of heavy modernization and Danification –-a process from 1979 on towards more and more agency in a “ glocalized” Greenland.     

Catharine Macaulay on the Will

Catharine Macaulay's discussion of freedom of the will in her Treatise on the Immutability of Moral Truth has received little attention, and what discussion there is attributes a number of different, incompatible views to her. In this paper the account of the nature of freedom of the will that she develops is related to her political aspirations, and the metaphysical position that she adopts is compared to those of John Locke, Samuel Clarke, Joseph Priestley, William Godwin, and others. It is argued that although Macaulay's position is ultimately ambiguous, she is most plausibly interpreted as following Locke's discussion of free will in his Essay Concerning Human Understanding and of inheriting, from him, the ambiguity that we find in her account.     

Palaeolimnological impacts of early prehistoric farming at Lough Dargan,County Sligo,Ireland

This study provides a unique method of inquiry for archaeological investigation with an aim to assess the intensity and effects of Neolithic and Bronze Age farming practices at Lough Dargan, northwest Ireland, through a multi-proxy analysis of a lake sediment core. Chironomid (non-biting midge fly) subfossils and lake sediment geochemistry (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and C:N ratios) were used to assess changes in limnological conditions through time. The limnological data were compared with macroscopic charcoal concentration and pollen data to examine the potential influence that early farmers had on a freshwater lake system within a prehistorically active catchment. Results from the chironomid analysis show that the first substantial period of agricultural activity in the early Neolithic (c. 3730–3190 BC) resulted in a temporary shift to more eutrophic lake conditions. There is evidence of animal husbandry with substantial levels of animal waste reaching the lake, leaving an imprint in the geochemical record of increased δ¹⁵N values and decreased δ¹³C values and C:N ratios during this time. The chironomid community reverted back to its pre-impacted state c. 3190 BC in response to a period of reduced farming (c. 3390–3000 BC) which eventually led to a distinct lull in activity, with possible cessation of farming from 3000 to 2700 BC. A return to eutrophic conditions coincided with the gradual return of agriculture, with more permanently altered lake conditions dominating from 2400 BC, even during a 250-year period of reduced human activity commencing at c. 1440 BC. Increased sedimentation rate, along with increases in δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and C:N, the presence of chironomid taxa indicative of erosion, more eutrophic lake conditions and high concentrations of macroscopic charcoal all point to more intensive land use practices during the Bronze Age. Palaeolimnological data exhibited an immediate response to intensified farming during this time, and were especially responsive to pastoral farming due either to scale of activity or proximity to the lakeside. The success of this study demonstrates the effectiveness of palaeolimnological analysis in the investigation of prehistoric farming. This approach will help inform Neolithic and Bronze Age land-use practice and human–environment relations in the region, and highlights the potential for chironomid-based archaeological research.     

New books received for review

Abstract

Geological information was first printed in colour on a map in 1820 but serious efforts to print geological maps in multiple colours began in Europe only in the 1840s. Increased geological mapping activity created the need to print more maps by cheaper methods, while general advances in lithographic colour printing provided the means. Better colour registration, transparency, range, permanence and distinctiveness were attained in the 1840s and 1850s by technical innovations and also by new design strategies. Consequently, as printed colour replaced hand colour as the norm, it also influenced the look of the geological map.     

Dracula's castle in Transylvania: Conflicting heritage marketing strategies

Abstract

Transylvania, situated beneath the Carpathian mountains, is one of the travel frontiers of Europe and the most romantic province of Romania. To most of its visitors, Transylvania is associated with haunted castles and vampires, thanks to the literary character Dracula. Even though Bran Castle appears to form the perfect home for a vampire count, this heritage destination is surrounded by debate because of the conflicting marketing strategies adopted by various organisations for the specific purpose of increasing the profits made from tourism. This paper explores issues of marketing, policies for interpretation and the understanding of heritage sites within a formerly socialist society in transition to a market economy. It analyses potential promotional, advertising and interpretive strategies which could be applied to Bran Castle, and offers solutions to produce a better understanding of the role of heritage tourism in a transitional economy.