Transnationalism and expatriate political engagement: the case of the Italian and French voting in Australia

The aim of this article is to provide an appreciation and analysis of the expatriate connectivity of Italian and French citizens from their place of residence in Australia through their respective elections in their home countries. Specifically, the article examines the case of Italians in Australia voting in the 2013 Italian elections and equally that of French citizens in Australia voting in the French presidential and the following legislative elections in 2017. The article examines the voting patterns there might be between those voting in their home country (Italy and France) and those voting in external electoral colleges (in this case, the relevant Australian college). The article shows that those living abroad—in this case, Australia—provide different political choices and less surprising low voting participation compared to the domestic districts. It also highlights that the transnational community can be, and is, influenced by the political context of their host country, which will be different from that which occurs in their home country.     

Rendering justice in witch trials: the case of the val de Lièpvre

The borderland of the val de Lièpvre, with lands in Alsace and in the Duchy of Lorraine, and divided by religion and language, offers a rich collection of sources for the history of witchcraft persecution. The territory sharply reveals what was undoubtedly characteristic of witchcraft trials more widely. The crime of witchcraft was considered abominable before the Christian community and God, and its prosecution justified abandoning many of the safeguards and constraints in legal procedure, whether restrictions on the use of torture, the reliance on dubious testimony or even denial of advocacy to the witches. The action of the judges was nonetheless, as they understood it, the rendering of true justice, by punishing the culprits with a harshness that would expiate their crimes before the community and preserve them from damnation in the face of God's judgment.     

Mineral soda alumina glass: occurence and meaning

Mineral soda–alumina (m-Na–Al) glass has been found across a vast area stretching from Africa to East Asia. m-Na–Al glass appears around the 5th c. B.C. and is relatively common for periods as late as the 19th c. A.D. It is particularly abundant in South Asia, where raw materials to produce m-Na–Al glass are readily available, and was likely manufactured there; however, the number and the importance of the manufacturing centers is unknown as archaeological information are extremely scarce. The interpretation of data obtained using compositional analysis on a large corpus of artifacts (486) shows that at least five sub-groups of m-Na–Al glass can be identified using the concentrations of calcium, magnesium, uranium, barium, strontium, zirconium and cesium measured with laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). From this data, it is possible to infer the existence of several m-Na-Al glass making centers, not all of them located in South Asia as previously assumed. They were operating over different time periods and were connected to different exchange networks.