A new era and new themes in Italian politics: The case of Padania

Abstract

By calling for the independence of Padania from the rest of Italy, the Lega Nord has recently drawn a great deal of attention to itself. In support of this campaign the Lega has actively introduced mythical and Utopian models onto the Italian political scene, combining a degree of cultural innovation with a certain political adventurism. This article focuses on these elements, beginning with the events of the autumn of 1996 when the Lega organized a ‘grande festa’ along the banks and in the towns of the River Po aimed at marking the birth of the new nation of Padania. The principal events of the festival were dominated by the many performances of the League's founder and leader, Umberto Bossi, whose speeches were full of pseudo‐religious or pseudo‐prophetic elements. Though the festival ended in Venice with a unilateral declaration of independence by the Lega and its followers in the north, it did not lead to any immediate political consequences. Nevertheless, the situation in Padania is marked by a complex mixture of identities. The Lega has not just introduced new methods of political opposition, it has also brought many subjects (local cultures, regionalism, the right to self‐determination) into the Italian political debate. Furthermore, it has used the language of the sacred and of ‘origins’ to create new characters, new calendars and new sacred sites.     

Assessing the Accidental Versus Deliberate Colour Modification of Shell Beads: a Case Study on Perforated Nassarius kraussianus from Blombos Cave Middle Stone Age levels

Colour plays an eminent role in beadwork. Colour modifications are reported on early shell beads from Middle Stone Age sites. However, identifying the colouring agent and demonstrating the intentional nature of the colouring process is not straightforward. Here, we provide analytical data on colour and structural modifications observed on Nassarius kraussianus (Nk) collected in modern thanatocoenoses and on shells of the same species experimentally heated in oxidizing and reductive atmospheres. Comparison with Nk shell beads from the 72 ka old Middle Stone Age levels of Blombos Cave, South Africa, and contextual analysis of other malacological remains from the same levels that were not used as ornaments identify the mechanisms responsible for the change of colour in modern Nk thanatocoenoses and heated shells, and show that although some Nk shell beads were heated, intentional heat treatment of shell beads is not demonstrated.     

King Bhumibol: The Symbolic “Father of Water Resources Management” and Hydraulic Development Discourse in Thailand

The present Thai monarch’s reputation in matters hydrological is an integral element of the mythology and symbolism that have characterised his reign. Royalists have carefully constructed the king as a semi-deified “Father of Thai Water Management”, “Royal Rainmaker”, wise inventor of hydraulic technology and planner of “royal initiatives” over a period of six decades. Yet, despite the links that are often drawn between water resources control, spiritual cosmology and political governance surrounding pre-modern Southeast Asian rulers, there has been surprisingly little critical scholarship undertaken on this contemporary aspect of kingship and state-making in Thailand. This paper examines the evolving discourse surrounding the monarchy and hydraulic development as a response to a perceived neglect regarding the central role of water in cementing the king’s power and legitimacy. It argues that King Bhumibol’s apparent hegemony in the national water resources governance paradigm has been an essential element underpinning the longevity and authority of his reign, partly facilitated through the workings of a network of allied strategic interests. Drawing from a range of sources, this paper makes a cautious start in addressing the subject and attempts to open up a space for further critical reflection and discussion regarding the significance of water resources control to Thailand’s royal statecraft.     

Symbols, Myth-Making, and Identity: The Red Hand of Ulster in Late Nineteenth-Century Paterson, New Jersey

Symbols are manipulated to express social identity and to reaffirm or create a sense of place. Smoking pipes recovered from late nineteenth-century privies in the Dublin Section of Paterson, New Jersey, bear the symbol of the Red Hand of Ulster. Today, the Red Hand of Ulster is ubiquitous on Unionist murals throughout Northern Ireland symbolizing Northern Irish Protestant identity. Originally, the Red Hand symbolized the dawn of the Irish High King of Ulster. In late-nineteenth-century Paterson, it is argued here, the symbol was embedded in ethnic politics involving the Irish Diaspora and Irish–American identity developed through the Gaelic revival and Irish–American organizations and labor unions.     

三门峡虢国博物馆形式设计综述

三门峡虢国博物馆在空间、整体造型与色彩、环境辅助设施等方面力求艺术性,在造型和色彩设计上具有象征性,而且在功能设计的各个环节强调其功能性,因此取得了良好的效果。     

三星堆青铜树象征性研究

对三星堆遗址二号祭祀坑出土的青铜神树的研究现状进行回顾,从宗教人类学与萨满艺术的角度对其作了新的探讨,认为树与鸟相结合的表现形式是萨满艺术中“世界之轴”或“萨满树”的典型特征,是萨满和巫师进行祭祀时沟通天地的主要道具.文章呼吁,对这类意识信仰的产品我们除了文献资料以外,还应该利用宗教人类学方法来深入解读其深层的涵义.     

Is ‘white nationalism’, nationalism?

Are ‘white nationalists’ really nationalists? This label is one that right-wing, white activists themselves have chosen, and as such, compels rigorous investigation to avoid simply adopting the preferred nomenclature of these activists and their ambitions. The nation and nationalism are concepts with rich scholarly histories, and this paper seeks to examine the discussion, activities and statements of so-called white nationalists in light of this literature. We argue through a three-fold concept of the nation—based on territoriality, population and symbolic and/or cultural content—that the vision of the political community and ambitions of these activists falls short of the standard of a nation and that their aspirations do not conform to what the literature lays out as nationalism. We argue, therefore, that using the language of ‘white nationalism’ to describe these groups obfuscates and sanitises their motives and lends undue legitimacy to their standing in public discourse.     

Commemorating a Rural African-American Family at a National Battlefield Park

The Robinson House site is situated within the Manassas National Battlefield Park in northern Virginia. The original Robinson House was constructed in the 1840s and was occupied until 1936 by the same free African-American family. The National Park Service recognizes and interprets the Robinson House since it was part of the Civil War battlefield landscape during the First and Second Battles of Manassas. The original house went through a series of structural additions and alterations in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The house stood until 1993 when arsonists burned it, causing 60% damage to the structure. Today, the east chimney and the stone foundations remain. Amidst the many Civil War monuments at the battlefield park the interpretation of a century of occupation by the Robinson family through the remaining foundations adds meaning and depth to the area's local history. The Robinson House remains symbolize an African-American family's way of life as well as their struggle to survive during Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era. The foundations and site are a steadfast symbol of African-American cultural persistence that has prevailed for over 100 years on a battlefield landscape.     

On the Spacing of Time: On “The Tide of History”

The author discusses aspects of how time appears and is used by the individual and by society. In focus is what the author calls the ideological time scale as it appears in Western society. The concept of the ideological time scale implies systems of strong, ideological signals transferred through time in the human mind from one generation to another. One such signal is the age-old concept of the hero and the symbolism projected around this concept. The paper ends with an admonition to scholars to be aware of and study the kinds of messages transferred through time by this signal system. These messages carry important information about the ways in which society directs itself in the time continuum.     

The descent of nations: social evolutionary theory,modernism and ethno‐symbolism

This article explores the use of a revised conception of social evolutionary theory towards an understanding of nationalism. First, I review the debate between ethno‐symbolism and modernism, through the lens of the Warwick Debate between Gellner and Smith, arguing that both are partly right. Secondly, I outline what the revised conception of social evolution is looking first at its traditional conception before outlining a Darwinian view of social evolutionary theory. Finally, I examine how Darwinian social evolutionary theory can help fruitfully bring the ethno‐symbolic and modernist perspectives together. This is done by a sustained engagement primarily with the theories of Anthony Smith and Ernest Gellner pointing to how Darwinian social evolutionary theory can provide a link between the two theories that makes them mutually supportive rather than opposed.