Thomas Traherne,Thomas Hobbes,and the Rhetoric of Realism

Abstract

Thomas Traherne has often been seen as a mystic detached from the turbulence of his period. Recent scholarship has attempted to place him more firmly in context. This article contributes to this trend in arguing that Traherne's late works, especially Commentaries of Heaven, were shaped by the pressure of responding to Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan. Though Traherne makes only one direct reference to Hobbes, his idiosyncrasies in thought, argument, and mode of expression are all fundamentally influenced by the need to counter Hobbes's account of ethics, metaphysics, and language. Traherne is particularly concerned to assert and display an ardent realism against Hobbes's nominalism. In doing so, he creates a complicated play of rhetorical figures, especially abusio or catachresis, as embodying theological commitments. This both places Traherne more clearly against the background of the intellectual history of the period in which he lived, and demonstrates his particularity as a writer.     

Women's paid work and moral economies of care

Female labour force participation has been increasing in recent decades, in part encouraged by state policies to raise the employment rate to encourage economic competitiveness and combat social exclusion. Social provision for care, however, has lagged behind this increase, creating practical and moral dilemmas for individuals and for society, facing parents with complex choices about how to combine work and care. In this paper, we draw on a qualitative study in London to explore the extent to which the large-scale entry of women into waged work is altering women's understandings of their duties and responsibilities to care for others. We conclude that their decisions are influenced by class position, entrenched gender inequalities in the labour market, varying abilities to pay for care and complex gendered understandings of caring responsibilities.     

Land Reform and Farm Restructuring in the Kyrgyz Republic

Two land tenure specialists chronicle initiatives in land reform and farm restructuring in the Kyrgyz Republic from 1991 to the present. A brief review of the legal basis for reforms to date is outlined and compared against progress in land reform and farm restructuring on the ground. Specific attention is devoted to regional variation in progress in farm restructuring, the impact of the reforms on farm size, farm labor requirements, and rural-to-urban migration. 1 figure, 9 tables, 10 references.     

Integrated Visions (Part I): Methodological Framework for Long-term Regional Design

The growing complexity of regional planning and design, in combination with increasing concerns about climate change and resource depletion, has revived the discussion on strategic thinking. Spatial planning and landscape architecture develop long-term visions to facilitate the gradual adaptation of the physical environment. Despite accomplishments in both disciplines, the two domains have yet to exploit the full potential of a joint approach to long-term regional design. The objective of the multidisciplinary study reported in this paper was to explore alternative means of developing imaginative yet robust long-term visions. The study combined literature study with the development of several long-term visions for the creation of sustainable energy landscapes. This paper focuses on the emerging methodological framework for long-term regional design, and argues that three modes of change should be integrated into the design process: change due to current projected trends, change due to critical uncertainties and intended change. Subsequently, a five-step approach to the development of long-term visions is derived and illustrated in this paper. The second paper of this two-part series, which will be published in the April 2012 issue of European Planning Studies, centres on the application and the discussion of the five-step approach to integrated visions.     

REVIEW

In the Realm of the Diamond Queen. By Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing. Princeton N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1993. Pp xvi + 350. Price US$49.95 (hard) $14.95 (soft).