Human Agency and Impersonal Determinants in Historical Causation: A Response to David Lindenfeld

Lindenfeld's proposed reclassification of causes—offered in lieu of a chaos theory applicable to history—yields paradoxical results when applied to the developments that installed Hitler in power, since these would have to rank as "constraining" rather than "empowering" because of his lack of control over them. The "principle of sensitive dependence," while an admirable aspiration, proves a counsel of perfection beyond reach of the historian when applied to those same events. As to historical explanations in terms of structural, impersonal determinants, these remain ascendant, to the neglect of human agency. Narrative history, which alone can account for both remote and immediate causes, continues to be unfashionable. Explanations in terms of structures and impersonal forces, which can only imply causation, are attractive because they offer historians wide scope for exercise of erudition and arrive at determinants that appear larger and more powerful than mere actions of humans. Where profound developments are to be explained, such interpretations conform to the assumption that their causes must have been profound. Yet countless turning-points in history, including Hitler's installation in power, were decisively shaped by acts of a few persons. The frustrating difficulty of accounting for individual behavior contributes to the appeal of impersonal, structural explanations. These tend, however, toward a deterministic view of the past which awakens the impression that what happened had to happen. That obscures the openness of past situations and rules out assignment of personal responsibility to individuals, who seem mere pawns of forces beyond their control. A remedy for such deterministic tendencies lies in counterfactual analysis, which, by drawing attention to feasible, but unrealized, alternatives to what happened, can convey the open-ended qualities of past situations and the importance of contingency.     

The Shorter Science and Civilisation in China: 1

Abstract

Desert landscapes are the least understood among terrain types of the Earth. The dearth of basic information on arid landforms has resulted in the misconception that the desert is man-made and that, therefore, we can 'fix it'. Scientific evidence indicates that deserts are part of the natural features of both Earth and Mars. They form as a result of the lack or scarcity of rain, which may be cyclical. The basic layout of today's arid terrain appears to have formed during humid periods in the geological past. Understanding of such features and those caused by wind erosion and deposition is essential to the development of deserts and semiarid lands for the benefit of mankind. Images obtained by spacecraft provide a new tool that is very useful in this regard, particularly in the location of groundwater resources to be used at times of cyclical droughts.     

‘Hold the Heathen Hammer High’: representation,re-enactment and the construction of ‘Pagan’ heritage

Viking Metal, Pagan Metal and their relatives represent subgenres of Black and Folk Metal characterised by their historical and mythological references, their incorporation of folk melodies alongside traditional music and instruments, and the use of contemporary material culture and dress. Like earlier folk-rock traditions, these subgenres have often steered an interesting course between the hedonistic tendencies which can accompany rock music (the ‘rock “n” roll lifestyle’) and an educational role: metal as heritage and specifically as heritage interpretation. In this paper, the authors explore these various connections through conversations with members of two prominent bands (Týr and Heidevolk) who gave research seminars at the University of York in 2012 and 2013. The connections between music making, landscape, performativity and narration are prominent in both cases, and form the basis of this study.     

Technologies of Appearance: Hair Behaviour in Early Medieval Europe

Personal appearance in general—and the grooming of hair in particular—has long held a position of interest in historical, art-historical, and literary scholarship. The same cannot be said of archaeology, and the material aspects of personal grooming in the construction and communication of identity have not been fully synthesized. As a result, little attempt has been made to understand the social role of hair in less well documented societies, such as those of early medieval northern and western Europe. This paper considers archaeological, iconographic and documentary evidence for the significance of, and physical engagement with hair in early medieval northern and western Europe, and offers a model for the interpretation of grooming as a social phenomenon. It is argued that grooming was a socially meaningful practice, and that it played a key role in the construction of early medieval identities, as well as in the maintenance and manipulation of boundaries and distinctions between individuals and groups.     

Scientific Progress Doubts and Hopes

Abstract

Our scientific and technological world must be accepted, whatever the reservations guarding above all the preservation of a genuinely humane existence on this Earth. The most difficult problem facing humanity is the present population explosion which appears at present insoluble, as humanity shows itself unequal to this challenge. Equally daunting is the prospect of nuclear war, and only if we can make reason and responsibility the yardsticks of our actions, is there any hope.     

The Chiming of Crack’d Bells: Recent Approaches to the Study of Artefacts in Archaeology

Abstract

CROSS PENDANTS, decorated with a ring-and-dot motif and made out of Whitby jet, have been found as far away as Norway and Greenland. This paper catalogues this unique group of artefacts and discusses their context. Their distribution is centred in Yorkshire, suggesting that they were made at Whitby Abbey in the late 12th century. Combining the power of the Christian cross with the magical properties of jet, they were likely worn as protective amulets.     

Institutionalizing Participatory,Client-Driven Research and Technology Development in Agriculture

This article identifies key characteristics of participatory research and development(R&D) in the agricultural sector: it is client-driven, requires decentralized technology development, devolves to farmers the major responsibility for adaptive testing, and requires institutions and individuals to become accountable for the relevance and quality of technology on offer. Through case study material drawn from Latin America, Asia and Africa, the article then reviews ways by which institutions have responded to these characteristics and raises issues for further elaboration. Steps need to be taken, in particular, to safeguard equity, both between the more and less vocal groups of farmers, and between the requirements of present and future generations (the latter referring particularly to environmental concerns). It is argued that participatory R&D alone is insufficient to deliver innovations relevant to diverse client groups: policy mechanisms are required to define which clients are to participate, whose agendas are to drive the process, and what organizational innovations are needed to move agricultural R&D in these directions.