Political History and Political Philosophy: Making Sense of the West

Abstract

The old Western synthesis, the coming together of self-government, the Christian proposition, modern equality, and the commitment to relieving man's estate, appears to be unraveling. In the European context, it is being replaced by a “pure democracy” that cannot do justice to the continuity of Western civilization. Rejecting the twin temptations of Progress and Decline, Pierre Manent recovers the perspective of the human agent. While the polis or classical city is no longer available to us, the self-government of free human beings remains at the heart of the Western enterprise. Manent shows that the Christian notion of conscience preserved the classical analogy between the soul and the political association and is at the hear of Western liberty. The West as a whole rests on the synthetic and mediating notion of conscience.     

Thinking through “Vernacular Cosmopolitanisms”: Historical Archaeology in Senegal and the Material Contours of the African Atlantic

This article draws on recent archaeological research on coastal Senegal to examine how the concept of “vernacular cosmopolitanism” can contribute to scholarship about the construction of cultural hybridity in West Africa during the Atlantic era. It argues that Senegambia between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries was a vibrant theater of international exchanges, and that archaeological examinations of these processes can both assist our understanding of regional history and enrich discussions about the African diaspora, diasporic identities, French imperialism, and Atlantic modernity. The study of material experiences can also raise critical questions about our conceptual categories and limits to our understanding of the Atlantic past.     

游客感知视角下的旅游地可进入性评价研究——以九寨沟风景区为例

基于游客感知视角,在Likert量表的基础上运用因子分析等统计分析方法,建立了旅游地游客可进入性的量化评价模型,并以九寨沟为案例地进行了实证研究。研究发现:①景区内部交通及信息条件、硬件设施及服务环境、文化环境、舒适性及卫生状况是游客对九寨沟可进入性感知的主要内容;②景区内部交通、医疗条件、治安及人身安全是游客预期中影响景区可进入性的强障碍因子;③游客对景区可进入性整体达满意水平;④游客对景区可进入性感知的评价在游后整体高于游前,九寨沟游客可进入性尚存在极大的提升空间,景区应有针对性的展开旅游营销以增强其竞争力。     

关于1940年美英“驱逐舰换基地”协定的历史考察

1940年 9月美国和英国签订的“驱逐舰换基地”的秘密协定 ,是第二次世界大战爆发后美国尚处在战争之外的情况下 ,两国间达成的第一个重要双边军事协定。经过近 4个月的谈判 ,英国获得了迫切需要的驱逐舰 5 0艘 ,美国以此换取了租借英国在西大西洋和加勒比海上的 8个海空军基地 99年的权利 ,以及英国政府的重要保证 :英国一旦战败 ,皇家海军决不投降也不会被凿沉 ,而是开到海外继续保卫帝国     

经济全球化与民族国家的主权保护

经济全球化是一个发展过程,也是一个客观现实。经济全球化对威斯特伐利亚体系所确立的传统的民族国家主权进行着挑战,但并未导致主权的终结。对包括中国在内的发展中国家来说,必须积极参与国际经济秩序的重构,才能有效地维护国家利益和捍卫国家的主权。     

乙二醛脱水加固定型曾侯乙墓和包山楚墓彩漆主棺

采用湖北省博物馆陈中行研究员发明的乙二醛复合液法脱水加固定型曾侯乙墓和包山楚墓出土的彩绘漆棺,漆棺脱水处理后色泽正常,保持了脱水前的色彩,未发生开裂变形,强度与脱水前相比有大幅提高。