Running with the land: legal-historical imagination and the spaces of modernity

In the middle decades of the nineteenth century, rural upstate New York was the site of a series of sometimes violent tenant uprisings known as the «Anti-rent Wars». The objective of tenants was to dismantle massive landholdings, some of which, such as the Manor of Rensselaerwyck, dated from the 1620s. Though tenant opposition took many forms, one crucial component was litigation and the practice of legal argument. This paper uses ideas of the production of space associated with Henri Lefebvre in presenting a reinterpretation of these events. After giving a brief account of the genealogy of Rensselaerwyck as a legal space, the historical arguments expressed in and made possible by legal discourse in a series of legal cases are analysed. One of the central issues in these cases was whether Rensselaerwyck represented an illegitimate survival of feudal spatiality in New York or whether the legal foundation of social space here could be assimilated to more modern legal forms. Legal argument in these cases is a social practice by which partisans attempt to produce (or reproduce) social space through the strategic interpretation of lines of continuity (or discontinuity) of the legal meaning of space encoded in rival conceptions of property.     

The ABC and Anti-Americanism: The Case of the 2003 Iraq War and Minister Alston

With noted protagonists on either side, the debate about anti-American bias within the Australian national broadcaster was one of the more obvious examples in the so-called ‘culture wars’ of the Howard era. This article aims to transcend the claims and counter claims of this ongoing debate by analysing a case study that not only documents both sides of the argument but also provides evidence to judge the veracity of claims of anti-Americanism. The case study used is Minister Richard Alston's claims of anti-American bias by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in their coverage of the 2003 Iraq War. Examining Alston's allegations and the three subsequent inquiries they initiated offers an opportunity to distinguish between anti-Americanism and criticism.     

“Un-Irish and un-Catholic”: sports,physical education and girls’ schooling

ABSTRACT

This article charts the development of physical education and sports in girls’ schools in Ireland during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It notes how early developments were undoubtedly influenced by traditions and practices in English public schools, with games such as hockey and cricket becoming popular in Irish girls’ schools. The “Swedish” gymnastics movement, which became popular the 1870s, led to the introduction of callisthenics and drill in many Irish schools. By the turn of the twentieth century, drill and dance displays had become a highlight in the convent school calendar of events. Official policy following the introduction of the Revised Programme for National Schools (1900) placed unprecedented emphasis on the importance of physical education. While many embraced these developments, others were critical of girls’ involvement in competitive games and sports, particularly those considered “foreign” and “un-Irish”. Drawing on convent school archives, official sources, and newspaper articles, this article provides new insights into the evolution of physical education and sports in Irish girls’ schools.