Knowledge nodes and international networks of connection: representations of private philanthropy by elite higher education institutions

This paper investigates the social and cultural geographies of large-scale individual giving in supporting the work of ‘elite’ international universities. With public funding of higher education in general decline, universities in countries of the global North are increasingly seeking funding from alternative sources, including private philanthropy. Although scholarly work has examined corporate and foundational giving to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), there has been little enquiry into how donations from wealthy individuals are represented by universities in their official literature. Publications such as annual reports, giving reports and campaign reports are used strategically by HEIs to project a global image. We examine the official literature of 50 elite HEIs located across the globe, uncovering new discourses into the cross-cultural reach of universities. We draw attention to complex social and cultural relations between HEIs and philanthropists, describing their encounters with reference to debates on personal mobilities, world-making and global and social inequalities. We conclude by highlighting the implications for theoretical work on ‘strategic philanthropy’ and on the transformative nature of HEIs as global centres of knowledge.     

When Communities Collide: Competing Claims for Archaeological Objects in the Market Place

Rather than recount a specific archaeological project and its community relationships, in the following, I consider the competing claims for archaeological objects by the various groups associated with the illegal and legal trade in antiquities. For nearly a decade I have examined the efficacy of cultural heritage laws in the protection of eastern Mediterranean archaeological landscapes. More specifically, I am interested in the contentious issues surrounding legalized antiquities markets as a means of protecting the archaeological past. In order to assess the value of various legal instruments I attempt to engage with the communities who claim an interest in the buying, selling, protection or appreciation of antiquities. The list of communities is long, varied and often at odds with each other. Reconciling these competing claims is a Herculean task, but one worthy of investigation as questions of inclusion, responsibilities and ownership of cultural heritage are at the forefront of an engaged archaeology.     

REVIEWS

Ancient Ruins and Archæology. By L. Sprague de Camp and Catherine C. de Camp. Published by Rigby Ltd., Adelaide, 1965 (also published by Doubleday & Co. Inc. U.S.A. and Souvenir Press Ltd. London). Pp. 1–294. Illustrated. Price 47/6 Aust. (A$4.75).     

Imperial Intersections: Archaeologists, War and Violence—Comments

This is a commentary on a series of papers presented in the Imperial Intersections: archaeologists, war and violence session at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The session addressed issues surrounding archaeology, war and violence and the ethical responsibilities of archaeological practitioners. The papers in this volume have created more questions than answers, but as with all ethical scenarios, I was inspired to think and to examine critically aspects of archaeology that may have eluded past contemplation. In attempting to find commonalities and themes in the submissions I realized that almost every paper is concerned with the production of knowledge—how much access should there be; who should have access to knowledge; how should knowledge be disseminated; and when and if the knowledge should be reproduced. The central debate of “in whose best interest is this knowledge produced” is also explored in this review?     

Highland Fisher-Folk and their Superstitions.

Studies on the history of folkloristics in colonial India during the second part of the nineteenth century have been hampered by excessive focus on European folklorists who published extensive collections of Indian folklore. The role of the indigenous folklorists and their agendas, as well as their ways of knowing and constructing folklore, has been ignored. The present article examines the contributions of the indigenous scholar V. N. Narasimmiyengar, an Indian civil servant in Mysore. It seeks to trace, examine, and analyse his active contribution to the making of folklore studies. The case of Narasimmiyengar may be regarded as representative of an engagement with modernity that led to a view of folklore as traditional, rural, and in need of the touch of civilization.     

Media portrayal of the cultural relationship between Australia and Japan

This article traces Japanese and Australian media portrayals of the cultural aspects to the bilateral relationship. The article examines popular discourse about Japan and Australia in the media of each country, demonstrating how this has reflected the evolution of the cultural relationship. In Australia, the press has swung from portraying Japan as a problematic source of income from the resources trade, through to the home of ‘cool’ technology and fashion. In Japan, discourse about Australia has ranged from images of a country populated with cute animals, to a regional partner sharing the same democratic ideals. The article draws from the personal experiences of the author who was a correspondent and journalist for Australian and Japanese news corporations during the 1980s and 1990s. The author covered the ‘koala wars’ and the frill-necked lizard boom prompted by the Mitsubishi Mirage television commercial, as well as monitoring the growth in Japanese tourism to Australia. The author also draws on data from tracking surveys conducted by the Embassy of Japanese in Australia.     

Reshaping Boundaries: International Ethics and Environmental Consciousness in the Early Twentieth Century

As questions of global ethics, struggles over space, place, time and nature occupy much late twentieth-century intellectual debate, this paper analyses some comparable currents of thought at the previous fin de sièGcle . Particular interpretations of nature–society relations emerged within a political and social context marked by widespread concern over the need to rehabilitate British society, in order to confront adequately the challenges of the new century. In transcending the narrow confines of national and imperial citizenship, these visions of nature and the international offered a different model of cultural regeneration and transformation. The work of a group of scientists and public figures associated with the Scottish polymath and prominent anti-imperialist, Patrick Geddes, notably Andrew John Herbertson and Marion Isabel Newbigin, reveals that their support for values of harmony and cooperation central to civic responsibility found common ground across geographical and cultural boundaries and were important components of an international imagination. In promoting these values, their advocacy of both a critical and a practical geography is demonstrated.     

Transcending Borders: Objects on the Move

Does the demand for archaeological artefacts in the legal marketplace in Israel increase the looting of archaeological sites in the region? Through the course of investigating this question it became apparent that while consumer demand may be at the heart of the trade in antiquities, the nature and driving forces behind looting are far more complex than is often understood. The motivations for looting involve notions of nationalism, the forces of globalism, conflicting preservation and management plans, colonialism, and long-entrenched traditional practices. It is an examination of this complexity (i.e. the multiple forms of and incentives for looting), which forms the focus of this paper. This is an exploration of the multivocality of the various agents who make it possible for objects to transcend borders.