Beyond Exemplar Tales: Women's Biography in Chinese History

This volume brings together accounts of biographies of women covering a span of history from the Han dynasty to the mid-twentieth century.Its aim is to define and provide interpretive clues on the genre.It is,as the editors Joan Judge and Hu Ying point out,partly a study of epistemology,as many of the authors grapple with the issue of whether or not historians can claim to know the lives,including the inner worlds,of Chinese women through time,using biographical information.That seems to me a bit of a "straw wo/man," for knowledge of historical subjects is always mediated by sources.Nonetheless,the contributors,writing from the perspective of history or literature studies,bring a wide variety of viewpoints to bear on questions of the usefulness of women's biography for understanding changes in society,and in the process introduce some fascinating Chinese women.     

Trade and sorcery accusations in East Africa

Gerald W. Hartwig. The Art of Survival in East Africa: The Kerebe and Long‐Distance Trade 1800–1895. New York: Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc. Africana Publishing Company, 1976. Maps, appendix, references, and index. $24.00.     

ANTHROPOGENIC IMPACT ON THE LANDSCAPE OF SOUTHERN BADENIA (GERMANY) DURING THE HOLOCENE—DOCUMENTED BY COLLUVIAL AND ALLUVIAL SEDIMENTS*

In the study area (the Upper Rhine Lowlands and the southern Black Forest), colluvial and alluvial sediments could be dated with the aid of ¹⁴C analysis, archaeological finds, pollen analysis and stratigraphic assessments. On the basis of these dated deposits, six different maps have been produced showing the distribution of the colluvial and alluvial sediments for the corresponding archaeological cultural periods. For each of these periods, the intensity of human impact on the environment has been estimated in relation to climatic conditions and different economic activities; for example, woodland clearance and mining activities.     

Shopping for Schools: How Do Marginal Consumers Gather Information About Schools?

The theory of the marginal consumer holds that a subset of better informed consumers can create a globally more efficient market through their purchase decisions. In the market for education created by recent school choice initiatives, these "market mavens" are essential to the successful functioning of the choice system given the empirically documented low quantity and quality of information possessed by the average consumer. Little is known, however, about the differences between how marginal consumers and average consumers of education search for information and make decisions about their children's schooling.