Local history as productive nostalgia? Change,continuity and sense of place in rural England

Local history groups are often negatively associated with a tendency to indulge in nostalgic practices that yearn for a romanticized past and propagate resistance to change. Their role in local politics and power networks (particularly in relation to planning and development processes) has also been critiqued as exacerbating issues of social inequality and exclusion. While not contesting the realities of such arguments, this paper adds nuance to such debates using the notion of ‘productive’ or ‘mobile’ nostalgia to explore possibilities for more positive renderings of local history and heritage activities. Empirical evidence from qualitative research in a rural village in Norfolk, England, is drawn on to demonstrate the role of these practices in providing a sense of continuity amid a continuously changing locale through the reassertion of place identities and attachments. Although by no means apolitical, this process need not necessarily be one of preservationism and resistance to change, but can be a mechanism through which residents are able to accept, or even welcome, changes to the social and physical constitution of their village. The paper also critically considers the value of productive nostalgia as a concept through which to explore local history practices and wider heritage movements.     

Secularization,sacralization and the reproduction of sacred space: exploring the industrial use of ancestral temples in rural Wenzhou,China

This paper offers a nuanced understanding of different social groups’ roles in the reproduction of sacred spaces. Drawing on the analysis of the transformation of sacred ancestral temples into private factories in rural Wenzhou, China, it problematizes the underlying division of ‘sacred’ and ‘secular’ actors and their opposite roles. It shows how lineage groups and factory owners, in spite of their distinctive social identities, work together and facilitate the secularization and sacralization of temple landscapes. On the one hand, both groups of people deploy discursive strategies and re-interpret the significance of ancestral temples and economic production, thereby rationalizing and prompting the conversion of temple spaces. On the other hand, traditional sacred temples are constantly reproduced through lineages’ ritual performances and factory owners’ worship and daily protection. As such, the roles of lineage communities and factory owners are diverse and change in specific contexts. This paper foregrounds the multiple and flexible agency of different social actors in relation to the production of the complex sacred–secular entanglement, and reflects on the changing traditional cultural landscape in rural China.     

Australasian Rural Geographies: At the Core,in the Antipodes?

This paper reviews ‘Antipodean’ rural geography research published over the period 2012–2014 inclusive. A broad, inclusive stance was adopted to what should be regarded as Antipodean rural geography. Key publication outlets were identified and scanned for what were deemed to be relevant paper titles and abstracts, then the institutional and disciplinary affiliations of authors, bearing in mind a general concern for ‘rural issues’. The review concentrates on the prominent themes of the recent mining boom and its externalities, new perspectives on agrarian and regional development, and population issues. Australasian rural geographers have not only become adept at ‘writing back’ to the centre but have played leading roles in the intellectual development of the sub‐discipline and cognate areas (e.g. rural sociology). Indeed, at least in the short period covered by this review and in the admittedly selective scope of that survey, Australian and New Zealand rural geographers have been at the forefront in advancing the sub‐discipline internationally. In doing so, they have not only placed the discussion of Australasian rural issues within a global context but have further refined the philosophical and conceptual approaches and tools used. In important respects, then, Australasian rural geographers are very much at the core of the international project of contemporary rural geography. Moreover, they have made – and continue to make – important contributions to the broader discipline of human geography.     

艺术介入背景下的乡村景观再生产研究

乡村景观研究多注重物质层面的讨论,与之相关的社会文化及其权力关系分析却不常见。本研究以全面生产理论为基础构筑了以“景观”为研究对象的理论分析框架,解读了艺术介入下白族村落双廊的乡村景观再生产过程。研究发现,双廊景观再生产过程是乡村发展趋于艺术化、现代化与旅游化的过程。艺术家以催化、牵引、调节等柔性作用方式介入其中,推动景观形态的重构;介入过程作用于景观的不同结构,在经济、政治、文化等不同层面均有反馈;其实践涉及政府、居民、游客以及艺术家自身的愿景表达,促成了景观理想的主体间性。双廊的艺术乡建旅游发展之路,对我国乡村振兴战略的实施具有参考作用。     

20世纪中国农业与农村变迁的跨学科考察--中国农业历史学会第九次学术研讨会综述

在南京举行的中国农业历史学会第九次学术研讨会,集中讨论了20世纪中国农业和农村变迁问题,涉及政治、经济、社会、技术、生态等方面。交叉性、时代性、前瞻性,是本次研讨会的主要特点。     

UNDERSTANDING TRADITIONALIST OPPOSITION TO MODERNIZATION: NARRATIVE PRODUCTION IN A NORWEGIAN MOUNTAIN CONFLICT

In Gausdal, a mountainous community in southern Norway, a conflict involving dogsledding has dominated local politics during the past two decades. In order to understand local protests against this activity, in this article we apply discourse analysis within the evolving approach of political ecology. In this way, we also aim at contributing to the emerging trend of bringing political ecology “home”. To many people, dogsledding appears as an environmentally friendly outdoor recreation activity as well as a type of adventure tourism that may provide new income opportunities to marginal agricultural communities. Hence, at a first glance, the protests against this activity may be puzzling. Looking for explanations for these protests, this empirical study demonstrates how the opposition to dogsledding may be understood as grounded in four elements of a narrative: (1) environmental values are threatened; (2) traditional economic activities are threatened; (3) outsiders take over the mountain; and (4) local people are powerless. Furthermore, we argue that the narrative is part of what we see as a broader Norwegian “rural traditionalist discourse”. This discourse is related to a continued marginalization of rural communities caused by increasing pressure on agriculture to improve its efficiency as well as an “environmentalization” of rural affairs. Thus, the empirical study shows how opposition to dogsledding in a local community is articulated as a narrative that fits into a more general pattern of opposition to rural modernization in Norway as well as internationally.     

1957～1965年广东省城乡人口迁移流动状况与特征

广东城乡人口迁移在1957～1960年呈现城市化趋向,在1960～1963年出现逆城市化趋向,在1963～1965年则处于相对停滞状态,这种变化特征是当时全国人口迁移与流动变化的一个缩影,在一定程度上也是当时工农业发展比例失调的必然结果。     

Identity,uncertainty and responsibility: privileging place in a risk society

That young people today reside within social worlds of unprecedented ‘risk’ is a persuasive position. While such discourses have become increasingly pervasive, there has been little interest in exploring contemporary shifts within specific socio-geographic contexts: place has been largely invisible. This paper considers Ulrich Beck's ‘risk society’ theses as a framework for exploring the experiences of 85 young residents of a regional Australian centre. These young people's stories revealed complex and often contradictory, tensions in relation to identity, uncertainty and responsibility. Socio-geographic location was found to be a significant feature in the negotiation and repercussion of these young people's lives.     

清末四川庙产兴学进程中的砍伐庙树

During Sichuan’s promotion of education in the late Qing Dynasty, trees in the domain of Buddhist or Daoist temples, which were part of temples’ property, had been felled across the province. The profits gained were used to repair or build schools as well as to fund their management. In different regions, the characteristics and intentions of the felling activities differed. Meanwhile, such fever gave rise to corrupt practices of deceitfully seeking profits which in turn caused numerous disputes and lawsuits, reflecting the confrontation provoked between the state and the people as well as different communities over tradition, ritual, and belief. The investigations of felling temple trees could enrich the understanding of provincial promotion for education in the late Qing period, and that of the social and cultural changes taking place in rural communities in modern times. Translated by Chen Haitian from Sichuan Daxue Xuebao 四川大学学报 (Journal of Sichuan University), 2007, (5): 136–144