“Nameless landscapes” - what can be seen and understood on a battlefield?

Abstract

A battlefield—as a complex notion—encompasses many kinds of space, from the physical to the symbolic. The features of geographical elements together created the stage for a clash and conditioned in some way (partly or even entirely) the course and result of the battle. However, today’s battlefield landscape is often a literary silent witness to history, telling us nothing of the past. Given the fact that battlefields have become tourist attractions and are a destination not only to the so-called ‘dedicated cultural tourists’, there is a need to give the landscape a voice in the complex tourist narration. In order to enable including a historical landscape story in a general tourist narration about a battlefield, a theoretical framework of a historical battlefield is proposed and discussed to justify the need of using specific tourist facilities to make the past present in today’s landscape. The case of Rac?awice battlefield in Poland illustrates the ‘nameless landscape’ where only the symbolic space is readable and linked with the past. It also supports a conclusion that there is a need to make the battlefield legible in terms of the sequence of events, the roles of people (groups and individual), and the role of geographical features in the battle. In this simple condition, a visit to a battlefield might be more complex and provide a fuller understanding.     

《上海博物馆藏战国楚竹书(二)》补释

本对《上海博物馆藏战国楚竹书(二)》中的《子羔》、《鲁邦大旱》、《从政》、《容成氏》各篇若干误释和阙释的畜、采、敲、洒、饿、瞌、位、干、怪等字,提出个人的见解。     

INTERPRETATION AND EXPLANATION IN CULTURAL SOCIOLOGY

Continuing debates over the role of interpretation in history and social science have recently been linked to a program to develop a cultural sociology, as distinct from a sociology of culture. Apart from a defense of the importance of culture and meaning, this effort aims to develop a form of “interpretive explanation,” though not simply by following Max Weber's similar project from nearly one hundred years ago. The book under review looks at different “epistemic modes” that aim to produce social knowledge, in order to show how interpretive explanation can combine the best of all the modes. Unfortunately, the book is beset by numerous theoretical problems, including a problematical understanding of the relations of fact and theory, hasty criticisms of examples of the different modes, and a reliance on metaphors that makes it impossible to do justice to the issues. The project of what I would call a “thick explanation” is worthwhile, but will have to be pursued in a more nuanced and careful way.     

UNCERTAINTY AND THE HISTORY OF IDEAS

Intellectual historians often make empirical claims, but can never know for certain if these claims are right. Uncertainty is thus inevitable for intellectual historians. But accepting uncertainty is not enough: we should also act on it, by trying to reduce and report it. We can reduce uncertainty by amassing valid data from different sources to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of competing explanations, rather than trying to “prove” an empirical claim by looking for evidence that fits it. Then we should report our degree of certainty in our claims. When we answer empirical questions in intellectual history, we are not telling our readers what happened: we are telling them how strong we think our evidence is—a crucial shift of emphasis. For intellectual historians, then, uncertainty is subjective, as discussed by Keynes and Collingwood; the paper thus explores three differences between subjective and objective uncertainty. Having outlined the theoretical basis of uncertainty, the paper then offers examples from actual research: Noel Malcolm's work shows how to reduce and report uncertainty about composition, and David Wootton's work shows how to reduce and report uncertainty about beliefs.     

殷墟龟腹甲新缀三则

本文新缀龟腹甲三则,并分别作了说明与考释。内容涉及商代农业、田猎、祭祀、丧葬等诸多方面,其中第二则缀合,更为历组卜辞时代提前说提供了强有力的支持。     

陈矦因咨戈考释两则

目前所见到的陈矦因咨(齐威王)兵器包括新近出土的和传世的共有7件,还有2件没有被考释出来,本文从文字字形考释的角度出发,对2件陈矦因咨戈的铭文进行释读、考证。     

Departmental relationships and images within the university

Abstract

It is contended that the foremost condition for the survival and ultimate success of departments is the development of qualitatively superior images and relationships within the university, and that excellence at that level must normally precede or accompany significant recognition at regional, national, and international scales. Aggressive participation by geographers is advocated in matters involving relationships with other disciplines, the university decision‐making process, concerns of students, alumni and developmental activities, and creation of a superior curriculum. A series of operational principles, called ‘bewares’, is suggested to guide the internal management of departments that seek excellence at any level.     

Brutality or Benevolence in Plantation Archaeology

Archaeologists working on plantation sites have typically ignored the role that violence played in the lives of enslaved African-Americans. By drawing together examples from archaeological publications in which violence has been mentioned, the commentary illustrates not only both the types and scale of violence endured by African-Americans, but also how archaeologists have effectively sanitized their publications on plantation life. In order to understand the African-American experience on the plantation, archaeologists must recognize that violence played a significant role in plantation society, and integrate it explicitly into all our models and interpretations of plantation life.     

国内外旅游解说研究进展

旅游解说是旅游景区服务设施的重要组成部分,但相关研究滞后于实践发展。基于国内外关于旅游解说文献资料的整理分析,认为现有的研究集中于概念辨析、解说媒介、案例规划设计、解说系统评估、新兴旅游方式解说、多学科理论引入等方面。同时从研究内容、研究理论、数据来源、分析方法方面对比了国内外旅游解说研究的异同。最后提出国内旅游解说未来重点的研究内容,以及在研究方法上可借鉴国际研究,采用更多定量定性方法结合使研究成果更加丰富。