Political imprisonment and the sanctity of death: performing heritage in ‘Troubled’ Ireland

The ‘Troubles’ is a euphemism associated with sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s until the late 1990s. Similarly, that term also is used to depict turmoil in all of Ireland between 1916 through 1924. During both eras, political imprisonment coupled with various forms of political violence (e.g. bombings, executions, and prisoner abuse) marred Irish society in ways that invoke socio-religious meaning. In particular, the sanctity of death captures the intense semiotics of those events and points to further theorising along lines of the Durkheimian tradition. As we shall examine herein, violations of the sanctity of death compound social conflict and the resistance it creates. Fieldwork was undertaken in Dublin and Belfast where official landmarks were explored in-depth: Kilmainham Gaol and the Crumlin Road Prison, respectively. Additionally in Belfast, other – unofficial – cultural sites provide further evidence of socio-religious symbolism, most notably the Irish Republican History Museum, Roddy McCorley’s Club in West Belfast, and murals in both Loyalist and Republican communities. Whereas Durkeimian theory remains at the forefront of the analysis, insights also are informed by heritage studies, in particular notions of cultural performance in contested societies.     

Geography and political science

Political geography can make distinctive and important contributions to both geography and political science, but this will require attention to the boundaries of these disciplines, emphasis on the comparative advantage of geographers with respect to the study of the shapes of physical space, and systematic consideration of boundaries as problematically institutionalized norms. Mapping, per se, cannot be the core of any discipline.     

Political language in Italy and Great Britain

Abstract

Patrick McCarthy underlined the role of political language in the crisis of the Italian Republic. It was both a reflection of the crisis and an active agent of political change. A study of Berlusconi's political language reveals the importance of his new, simplified style of political communication in the creation of his party Forza Italia and of his own personal charisma. He has been able to adapt his rhetoric to changing political circumstances and to different publics. Romano Prodi was successful in 1996 in constructing his image as the ‘anti-Berlusconi’, and Walter Veltroni also broke with the old style of hermetic political discourse acknowledging the inspiration both of Robert Kennedy and Tony Blair, but the language of the centre-left in recent years has generally failed to convey a clear message and has perpetuated obscurity in order to conceal its internal divisions. A comparison with the political language of Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair reveals interesting similarities and differences. Thatcher, like Berlusconi, appealed to the need for national revival in the face of the threat from the left, but her language, unlike his, was rooted in the tradition of Protestant individualism and invigorated rather than challenging the existing party system. Blair managed to make skilful use of a new rhetoric of emotion and to incorporate elements of Thatcher's appeal in his ‘new Labour’ synthesis. In conclusion: McCarthy was deeply preoccupied with the possibility of an alternative and more honest style of political communication.     

Pottery politics: Late Classic Maya palace production at Motul de San José, Petén,Guatemala

Archeologists often rely heavily on stone monuments, architecture, settlement patterns, and written texts to reconstruct ancient political systems. In this paper we focus on the role of polychrome pottery as both a reflection of and critical component in the production of power relations. We present rare direct evidence of polychrome pottery production recovered from the Maya site of Motul de San José, the presumed Late Classic (ca. 600–900 AD) capital of the epigraphically-recognized Ik’ polity. Our contextual analysis of production debris and tools complement on-going polychrome vessel style and chemical analyses of Ik’ Style polychrome vessels to suggest that Motul de San José’s royal court was an important center in the manufacture of Ik’ Style polychrome pottery. These elaborate vessels indexed the political history, power, and networks of the Ik’ polity. By combining archeological, iconographic, and epigraphic data of polychrome pottery, we shed light on Motul de San José’s internal political-economic dynamics as well as its macro-political alliances and tensions with other polities.     

“吃讲茶”:成都茶馆、袍哥与地方政治空间

作为公共空间的茶馆成为袍哥的活动中心,他们在那里联络、聚集和开会,成为袍哥社会网络的一个重要部分。袍哥在茶馆里活动形成了他们独特的语言和行为,"摆茶碗阵"便是他们经常使用的联络方法。茶馆作为地方政治空间可以表现在很多方面,不过,"吃讲茶"仍然是最为典型和最具代表性的活动,这个实践显示了市民的相对自治状态,他们试图在没有官方介入的情况下解决冲突,说明一种国家之外社会力量的存在。     

马克思的市民社会理论及其价值意蕴

马克思的市民社会理论内容非常丰富。弄清其语境下的市民社会概念及其市民社会与政治国家的关系,深究其理论的人性本质这一根本主线,才能达到克服市民社会的异化形式与实现人类的解放这一最终归宿。深刻领悟其理论的精神实质,对我国正在进行的经济建设、政治建设、文化建设、和谐社会建设即四位一体的中国特色社会主义现代化建设具有重大的理论价值与实践价值。     

高拱《病榻遗言》考论——与赵毅教授商榷

赵毅教授撰文提出,张居正倒台原因中包含高拱权谋"因素",此说值得商榷。本文认为:《病榻遗言》刊刻问世于万历三十年至三十一年之间,不在万历十年至十二年之间,故与张居正身后罹难无涉;该书是高拱对隆庆六年正月至万历元年二月之间发生的诸多政治事件的真实记录,并非不实之词;该书是当事人记述的回忆录,绝不是"为其身后报复政敌"的所谓"政治权谋"、"巧妙政治设计",因而不可能影响到万历十年以后的明代政局。     

Modeling and testing polity boundaries in the Classic Tuxtla Mountains,Southern Veracruz,Mexico

Combined application of GIS modeling of polity boundaries and qualitative characterization of those boundaries in the Tuxtla Mountains, southern Veracruz, Mexico generated interesting questions and some answers regarding the regional political landscape. Not only did this process elucidate possible boundary locations, the process of evaluating these different hypotheses proved to be a useful exercise in characterizing the boundary and the nature of interaction between the polities controlled by Matacapan and Totocapan during the Classic period. I develop a seven variable classification for political boundaries to be used with coarse-grained settlement data.     

论徐天麟《两汉会要》的编纂特点

作为补撰前代会要的代表作,徐天麟《两汉会要》首开补撰前代会要的新途径,并通过设置总类,开创二级分类体系,丰富注释体例的形式与内容,以及采用多种史论形式相结合的方式,完善了自中唐以来所产生的会要体史籍的编撰体例,奠定了补撰前代会要史籍的史学地位。