The Use of Adobe in the Mormon Cultural Region

The distinctiveness of the Mormon culture region has been described by several authors. One of the items which contributes to this distinctiveness was the widespread use of adobe (sun-dried brick) in relic buildings in the region. The process of adobe making was diffused from Spanish settlements in the American Southwest, and highly modifed by the Mormon builders in the Great Basin. Adobe was initially used in almost all forms of construction because of limited timber for construction and fuel to kiln-dry bricks. Advent of the railroad prompted construction of lines to open coal mines providing a cheap fuel for brickmaking. With low-cost kiln-dried brick, adobe was rapidly replaced as a building material. Thousands of the original adobe structures still remain, however, and constitute an important element in the landscape of the region. Existing adobe structures are normally plastered over, but the distinctive architectural styles associated with the period when most were constructed make them easily recognizable.     

African-Americans and the French Imagination

Frappé par certains grands succès de librairies récents (notamment Les Bienveillantes, JanKarski et HHhH), on a beaucoup réfléchi, notamment dans le numéro spécial du Débat consacré à « L'Histoire saisie par la fiction », sur la place, la portée et la fonction de l'histoire dans la production de textes littéraires. Nous nous emploierons dans le présent article à apprécier certains aspects littéraires de l'écriture historienne dans « l'enquête » de l'historien Ivan Jablonka, Histoire des grands-parents que je n'ai pas eus. Retraçant l'itinéraire de ses grands-parents, juifs communistes militants qui, fuyant la répression politique, quittent enfin leur shtetl polonais dans l'espoir de trouver refuge en France avant d'être emportés par la guerre et le génocide comme tant d'autres, Jablonka s'y implique pleinement, nous livrant aussi le récit de ses recherches et de sa façon personnelle de vivre ce passé dramatique. En analysant la fonction de cette implication subjective de l'historien dans la poursuite de ses recherches et l'écriture de son récit, nous verrons que Jablonka nous fait voir l'itinéraire tragique de ses grands-parents, mais aussi les grands courants de l'histoire dans lequel il s'inscrit, « comme Elstir peignait la mer », c'est-à-dire à partir de la manière particulière dont ils ont pu vivre ce passé.     

Fixation of the type species of the genus Protoretepora de Koninck, 1878 (Bryozoa,Fenestrata)

Wyse Jackson, P.N., Reid, C.M. & McKinney, F.K., iFirst article, 2011. Fixation of the type species of the genus Protoretepora de Koninck, 1878 (Bryozoa, Fenestrata). Alcheringa, 1–2. ISSN 0311-5518.

The type species of the Palaeozoic bryozoan genus Protoretepora de Koninck, 1878 was originally fixed as Fenestella ampla Lonsdale in Darwin, 1844, but this taxon has been shown to belong to the bryozoan genus Parapolypora Morozova & Lisitsyn, 1996 Morozova, I. P. and Lisitsyn, D. V. 1996. Revision of the genus Polypora. Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal, 1996(4): 38–47. [English translation: Paleontological Journal30(5), 530–541] [Google Scholar]. The original type species designation for Protoretepora de Koninck, 1878 is set aside, and in accordance with Article 70.3 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (4th edition, 1999) the nominal species Protoretepora crockfordae Wyse Jackson, Reid & McKinney, 2011 from the Permian of Tasmania, Australia is herein fixed as the type species.     

A new Llanvirnian Isograptus from the D. murchisoni Shales of Abereiddy Bay,Wales

Isograptus ovatus davidensis subsp. nov. is described from the D. murchisoni Shales of Abereiddy Bay, Wales. This discovery gives further support to the correlation of the murchisoni Zone with the upper part of the Darriwil Stage of Victoria.     

Crowded kitchens: the ‘democratisation’ of domesticity?

Building on previous work concerning the gendered nature of domestic space, this article focuses on the kitchen as a key site in which gendered roles and responsibilities are experienced and contested. As men have begun to engage more frequently in cooking and other domestic practices (albeit selectively and often on their own terms), this article argues that kitchens have become ‘crowded’ spaces for women. Drawing on evidence from focus groups, interviews and ethnographic observation of kitchen practices in South Yorkshire (UK), we suggest that men's entry into the kitchen has facilitated the expression of a more diverse range of masculine subjectivities, while also creating new anxieties for women. Specifically, our evidence suggests that family meals may be experienced as a site of domestic conflict as well as a celebration of family life; that convenience and shortcuts can be embraced by women without incurring feelings of guilt and imperfection; that cooking is being embraced as a lifestyle choice by an increasing numbers of men who use it as an opportunity to demonstrate competence and skill, while women are more pragmatic; and that kitchens may be experienced as ‘uncanny’ spaces by women as men increasingly assert their presence in this domain. Our analysis confirms that while the relationship between domestic practices and gendered subjectivities is changing, this does not amount to a fundamental ‘democratisation’ of domesticity with significantly greater equality between men and women.