Explanation And Thought Experiments In History

Although interest in them is clearly growing, most professional historians do not accept thought experiments as appropriate tools. Advocates of the deliberate use of thought experiments in history argue that without counterfactuals, causal attributions in history do not make sense. Whereas such arguments play upon the meaning of causation in history, this article focuses on the reasoning processes by which historians arrive at causal explanations. First, we discuss the roles thought experiments play in arriving at explanations of both facts and contrasts. Then, we pinpoint the functions thought experiments fulfill in arriving at weighted explanations of contrasts.     

The Right to Mobility: The Production of Mobility in the Courtroom

This paper considers the way mobility has been given meaning by decisions in the United States Supreme Court. It argues that in four key decisions the Court constructed a de facto “right to mobility” by linking mobility to notions of citizenship. The paper suggests that these cases illustrate the importance of considering how mobilities are given meaning in particular contexts and how these meanings are framed within notions of mobility as an essential human freedom. The paper is framed by discussions of mobility, rights and citizenship and concludes with a discussion of the role of othering in the production of mobility‐as‐citizenship.     

Introduction

The research reported in this special issue details research undertaken at the site of Casselden Place in Melbourne, Australia. In addition to providing specific information about this site, this collaborative effort demonstrates how the theory and practice of the archaeology of the modern city has developed and matured.

Integrating Archaeology and History at the “Commonwealth Block”: “Little Lon” and Casselden Place

My purpose here is to outline the research design for the excavation and analysis of Casselden Place, make some preliminary remarks about the initial phases of analysis and integration of archaeological and historical datasets at the site, and to make some general comments about the archaeology of the modern city. Much of what I say rests on intensive artifact analysis that has been reported in the papers collected here, in the major site report, and on research being undertaken on assemblages derived from comparable sites in Sydney.