Borrowed Robes: The Educational Value of Costumed Interpretation at Historic Sites

Pressure to develop vulnerable historic sites into competitive commercial operations has led to controversial interpretive techniques being introduced by aggressive marketing managers. Scarce resources have been invested in largely unproven technological and other innovative methods of presentation. This paper looks at the employment of costumed interpreters at historic sites, what they claim to offer visitors, and whether their services match visitors' needs. It reports the findings of an investigation into what visitors want from historic sites and the extent to which costumed interpreters contribute to their experiences. The study reported here compared the performance of 12 historic sites in four countries: two European (Sweden and the UK) and two North American (Canada and the USA); with the participation of 589 visitors. The study provides clear recommendations for site managers as to the value of costumed interpretation and offers guidelines on the levels of investment (in reproduction costume and staff training) that guarantee visitors an educational experience during their visits to historic sites.     

Theorising the role of cultural products in cultural diplomacy from a Cultural Studies perspective

Cultural diplomacy continues to attract significant interest as a potential means for states to exercise ‘soft power’. However, policy-makers and academics who assert the efficacy of cultural diplomacy in terms of influencing foreign publics and states rarely consider how cultural products are actually received abroad. This article proposes that this process of reception can be better understood with reference to the theoretical approaches of Cultural Studies, which encourage us to recognise the extent to which audiences are implicated in processes of meaning-making, processes which are closely associated with the articulation of identity. By applying these approaches to cultural diplomacy, policy-makers and researchers could shift their focus to an exploration of realities of the reception cultural products abroad, which would better inform their assumptions about how to achieve successful cultural diplomacy.     

Forty‐Five Years of Pacific Island Studies: some reflections

Looking back on our own times, we have seen a rise and fall of interest in Pacific Island studies. Our careers, which have led us currently to the Centre for Samoa Studies at the National University of Samoa, retrospectively illustrate transformations in Pacific Studies over the past half century.     

Living with instrumentalism: the academic commitment to cultural diplomacy

Despite the influence of cultural policy studies and other theoretical approaches ‘after critique’, the dominant paradigm across much of the humanities remains anti-governmental especially when ‘culture’ is the other term in the equation. This paper argues instead for a positive relationship between humanities academics/intellectuals and the governmental agendas of cultural diplomacy, and for ways of accommodating critical perspectives on both the concept of ‘the national interest’ and the instrumentalisation of culture. It examines the policy objectives of the Australian government’s main cultural diplomacy agencies together with practical examples from its bilateral bodies, in particular the Australia-China Council and its program of support for Australian Studies in China.     

Searching for the Material in Peter K. Andersson’s ‘How Civilized Were the Victorians?’

This article is a response to Peter K. Andersson’s arguments about the ‘civilizing thesis’ in Victorian Studies. It examines his approach in relation to class, discourse, and structure, particularly in relation to the working classes and future directions in approaches to nineteenth-century sources. It suggests that Victorian scholars can learn from labour geographers, who offer new models that highlight structural inequalities while maintaining a sensitivity to post-structural cultural understandings of gender, race, and class.     

陈桱史学再探

陈是元末明初一位颇有影响的史家 ,其学既有家学渊源 ,也承诸黄震之学。他有多种史学作品传世 ,而《通鉴续编》为其代表作。陈史学集中反映了在史学日趋理学化情况下儒家学者们的治史旨趣。对陈史学作深入研究 ,有助于我们更好地了解元明时期史学的发展趋向。     

王世贞明史研究之成就与特点

王世贞的明史研究涉猎了万历以前几乎所有的重大问题 ,从明代政治事件、典章制度、社会经济、中外关系、文化生活到历史人物等等方面 ,他都有独到的看法和贡献 ,且涉及明代社会的各个层面 ,开创了一派以实录为本位的新掌故史学 ,留下了丰富的资料。他的明史研究贯串着歌颂明朝的思想 ,体现其“成一家之言”的著史志向 ,因而他在明代史学史上具有十分突出的地位。     

帝俄藏学的历史与成就

18世纪任职于彼得堡皇家科学院的德国学者搜集到了俄国第一批藏文文献 ,并进行了初步的描述和翻译。 19世纪上半期 ,施密特、比丘林等人的翻译和著述活动使俄国藏学赢得了与欧洲藏学比肩而立的地位。而瓦西里耶夫、卡法罗夫、齐比科夫、谢尔巴茨科伊等学者在 19世纪下半期和 2 0世纪初期将俄国藏学推向新的高度。     

刘大年与中国抗日战争史学会

20世纪80年代,学界的思想解放和百家争鸣迎来了国内的抗日战争史研究的春天。年逾古稀的马克思主义史家刘大年,以其敏锐的目光和特殊的学术地位,参与筹建中国人民抗日战争纪念馆,推动中国抗日战争史学会的成立和《抗日战争研究》的创刊。他作为首任会长,在抗日战争史学会成立之后,积极组织了1990年代一系列讨论会,有效地推动了抗日战争史的科学研究。     

显学的背后:沈垚西北史地学述论

本文通过对沈垚西北史地研究经历的回溯,从一个侧面考察了清代学术史上被后人称为显学的道光年间西北史地研究学术活动的进行过程。认为因中国传统学术特点影响、受中国社会条件所限,当时的西北史地研究者缺乏实地考察手段与科学实测技术的支持,他们的研究不可避免地走向文献考索,研究中的经世意义有所消减。