Between Paralysis and Practice: Theorizing the Political Liminality of Palestinian Cultural Heritage

The Israeli military occupation of Palestine since 1967 coupled with the introduction of limited autonomy in 1993 has positioned the yet-to-be formed nation-state in political liminality—neither completely sovereign nor entirely subjugated. While this ambiguity has obvious ramifications for Palestine as a political entity, it also places the cultural heritage of Palestine in potential jeopardy. This paper examines the legal and historical construction of liminality for Palestine and explores how its ambiguous political status impacts the preservation, protection and management of cultural heritage in Palestine and influences the construction of cultural heritage narratives by Palestinians.

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Résumé  L’occupation militaire israélienne de la Palestine depuis 1967 associée à l’introduction d’une autonomie limitée en 1993 a positionné l’état national encore à venir en liminalité politique—ni complètement souveraine, ni complètement soumise. Tandis que cette ambigüité possède des ramifications évidentes pour la Palestine en tant qu’entité politique, il pose également la question de l’héritage culturel de la Palestine potentiellement en péril. Cet article examine la construction légale et historique de la liminalité concernant la Palestine et explore combien son statut politique ambigu a un effet négatif sur la préservation, la protection et la gestion de l’héritage culturel de la Palestine et influence la construction de récits de l’héritage culturel par les palestiniens.

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Resumen  La ocupación militar israelí de Palestina en 1967, unida a la introducción de un autonomía limitada en 1993, ha colocado a esta nación estado aún sin constituir en una especie de tierra de nadie política: ni es un estado totalmente soberano ni enteramente sometido. Si bien es cierto que esta ambigüedad tiene consecuencias obvias para Palestina como entidad política, también pone en serio riesgo su patrimonio cultural. En este trabajo se analiza la interpretación de esta tierra de nadie palestina desde un punto de vista jurídico e histórico, y se explora la repercusión de este ambiguo estado político en la preservación, protección y gestión del patrimonio cultural de Palestina y su influencia en la elaboración de obras literarias sobre patrimonio cultural por parte de los palestinos.

     

Navigating the Social Safety Net: A State‐Level Analysis of the Relationship between Medicaid and Consumer Bankruptcy

The social safety net in the United States consists of a variety of programs administered by both federal and state governments. Although the populations served by social programs such as Medicaid and consumer bankruptcy likely overlap, policymakers tend to look at individual programs unilaterally and often fail to communicate appropriately with legislators and political leaders at differing levels of government. The result of such an incremental approach to policy reform is a fragmented social safety net system in the United States. In this study, the relationship between two social programs belonging to the larger social safety net is examined, and recommendations for policymakers are offered.     

Stable isotopes as indicators of change in the food procurement and food preference of Viking Age and Early Christian populations on Gotland (Sweden)

Archaeological samples of human and faunal remains dating from the Viking (9–11th century AD) and Early Christian (11–12th century AD) periods of Gotland, Sweden were assayed through stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis in order to investigate whether changes in subsistence occurred between these periods, particularly regarding the importance of seafood. The study was concerned with how the dietary regime of the Baltic trading port and farming settlement at Ridanäs, Gotland was affected by the widespread environmental and sociocultural transformations that characterized the end of the Viking Age. More generally, the research considers how changes in both food procurement and preference may account for observed differences in the dietary regimes of individuals from the Viking Age and the Early Christian period.     

Beyond identifying elites: Feasting as a means to understand early Middle Formative society on the Pacific Coast of Mexico

Feasts provide a public forum where social statuses can be affirmed or challenged among pre-state societies. Documenting feasting behavior thus provides insight into the construction of prehistoric political power. This paper presents expected material patterns of feasting by focusing on intra-site variability in food preparation, presentation, and consumption. Expectations are evaluated by comparing ceramic, ground stone, obsidian, and faunal data recovered from Conchas phase (900–800 BCE) elite and village midden deposits at Cuauhtémoc in the Soconusco region of southern Mexico. I argue that elite feasting at Cuauhtémoc created political cohesion between elite and non-elite segments of society during the Conchas phase as a new polity emerged that was more socially stratified and politically hierarchical than anything previously known in the region.