The ‘everyday’ of banal nationalism – Ordinary people’s views on Italy and Italian

In 1995, Banal Nationalism set a new way to study nationhood. Away from the traditional concern with its historical origins (‘when’) and its substantialist features (‘what’), Banal Nationalism offered a systematic analysis of its reproduction (‘how’). Informed by social and discursive psychology, Billig pointed to the role played by familiar, unremarkable ‘little words’ (deixis) to explain the persistence and pervasiveness of the idea of a world divided into nations. The present article aims to expand Billig’s seminal study on the reproduction of nationalism, by incorporating an ‘everyday nationhood’ perspective, which attends more closely to human agency and contextual interaction. To give empirical substance to this move, the article relies on photo-elicitation group discussions and written essays collected in a vocational school in Milan, Italy, among an ethno-culturally diverse sample. By bringing the voices of people in as active producers of national meanings, the article offers a more complex picture of a world banally divided into nations. Both a national ‘we’ and a national ‘here’ emerge in fact as socio-spatially differentiated, fragmented and articulated at a plurality of scales, thus defying the logical linearity of banal nationalism, which unwittingly reproduces nations as singular, internally homogenous discursive entities. The article concludes by arguing for the need to complement the banal with the everyday in order to more fully capture processes of national reproduction in contexts of increasing ethno-cultural diversity.     

Teaching terrorism,saving the state? Education and geopolitical imaginations of terrorism in 12 violently challenged states

The role of education in political socialisation and the importance of terrorism discourses in promoting (or silencing) certain interests have long been acknowledged. This study combines both themes by asking: How do school textbooks, sanctioned by states that are violently challenged by internal opposition, discuss the issue of terrorism? I draw on, and contribute to, four distinct, yet related streams of research: critical geopolitics, critical terrorism studies, geographies of education, and young people's geographies. Simultaneously, while most work on the topic focuses on individual cases (typically of Western countries), I conduct the first comparative analysis of twelve countries from different world regions: China, Egypt, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka and Turkey. Contrary to recent claims, considerable heterogeneity persists regarding geopolitical imaginations of terrorism, while US-coined discourses are only infrequently adapted. However, there is still recognisable functionalist convergence as the states under analysis utilise their control of the education system in their internal struggles, mainly by portraying their opponents as evil, by ascribing a positive identity to themselves, and by calling for support by their citizens (including restrictions of human rights and democracy).     

Deceptive data? The role of the investigators in the New Survey of London Life and Labour 1928–32

The data collected by the New Survey of London Life and Labour between 1928 and 1932 is one of the most significant resources of detailed household information for the interwar period, with data extracted for almost 30,000 households, providing detailed information including birthplaces, hours of work, and wages. This article assesses the process of the original data collection, highlighting issues that mean users of the extracted data must proceed with a measure of caution. In particular, it demonstrates that one investigator employed by the survey, who provided information for around a fifth of households, appears to have regularly submitted generic and estimated information that problematizes the dataset.     

Applying dynamics and comparing life tables for Pleistocene Equidae in anthropic (Bau de l'Aubesier,Combe-Grenal) and carnivore (Fouvent) contexts with modern feral horse populations (Akagera,Pryor Mountain)

In this study, we propose a method based on life tables currently used in population dynamics and ecology to compare the mortality curves of Equidae from anthropic and carnivore fossil assemblages with those from modern populations. The combined analysis of frequency (f_x) with various ecological parameters such as mortality rate (q_x), survival rate (l_x), fecundity rate (m_x), and killing factor (k_x), established for each age class, allows us to characterize the stability of fossil populations. These ecological parameters, developed in demography, correspond to many curves and constitute a complementary approach to interpret the two main mortality models, attritional and catastrophic, often evoked in zooarchaeology. The age structures of fossil horses from the anthropic sites of Bau de l'Aubesier (Vaucluse, France) and Combe-Grenal (Dordogne, France) and the hyena den of Fouvent (Haute-Saône, France) are compared to typical catastrophic modern populations of Equidae from the National Park of Akagera (Rwanda). We also used data collected by the Bureau of Land Management for present day feral horses from Pryor Mountain (Montana, USA) which constitutes a reliable referential of a stable living population. The characterization of age structures in those different contexts is discussed as well as the impact of Neanderthals and hyenas on fossil assemblages.     

《全宋诗》失收诗人及其佚诗丛考——以稀见汉籍《唐宋千家联珠诗格》为中心

于济、蔡正孙编集的《唐宋千家联珠诗格》是一部研究宋元之际诗学发展的重要文献,然此书在中国本土久佚,但在韩国和日本有多种翻刻本,流传非常广,影响亦甚大。《联珠诗格》对于研究宋代文学有重要的校勘、辑佚及史料价值,特别是此书保存近四百首《全宋诗》未收的佚作,其中有大量的宋代诗人不见于《全宋诗》。本文选取其中13位《全宋诗》失收的宋代诗人,对其生平进行考证,并辑录其佚诗。     

The relationship between children's perceptions of the natural environment and their subjective well-being

The overarching aim of the study was to ascertain the relationship between children's perceptions of the natural environment and their subjective well-being. More specifically the study aimed to fit a structural model depicting the nature of the relationship between children's environmental views and their global, and domain-specific life satisfaction. The sample included 1004 twelve-year-old participants randomly selected from 15 primary schools in Cape Town, South Africa. The measuring instrument included the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Scale for children, the Students' Life Satisfaction Scale and the Personal Well-Being Index-School Children. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the validity of the NEP Scale which showed appropriate fit structure. A good fit structure was also found for the overall structural equation model. However, the overall model showed that children's environmental views were not related to their global life and domain-specific life satisfaction. At a foundational level, more research is required to allow for a better understanding of how children in differing circumstances construct and assign meaning to nature, and what their perceptions of nature are before we can begin to ask them when, how or why they engage in nature.     

明末清初文人命运之管窥——侯方域生平考

侯方域是明末清初著名的文人之一,他出生于名门望族,受过良好的教育,很早就名满天下。他早年交游广阔,与当时的一帮名士朝夕对酒作诗,品评当世人物,颇有济世之志。后来,因得罪了小人,自己落得四处飘零,又由于农民战争及清军的蹂躏,他的大部分好友都散去或死去;明清易代,他又成了夹缝中的遗民。他虽然英年早逝,但短暂的一生却历经巨变沧桑。     

放射性碳素测定年代报告(三八)

本报告发表的是中国社会科学院考古研究所考古科技实验研究中心碳十四实验室和中国科学院地球环境研究所西安加速器质谱测试中心在2007～2011年期间测定的40个考古数据。数据表示方式与以往所发报告相同。为方便应用另做如下几点说明。1.碳十四年代半衰期按5568年计算。2.校正年代所用程序为OxCal,校正曲线为1998年公布版本。3.与以往报告相同,所给年代误差范围均为±16,年代范围的概率分布为68.2%。4.由于树轮年代校正曲线各区段形状不同,校正后年代范围可能形成几组,总合概率为68.2%(与过去报告中总合概率表示为100%相同)。5.校正均按单一样品方式处理。6.数据均作碳十三     

生之意志的最后温存——论岜沙苗寨的生命教育

在地球某个角落,生活在林荫中的一群人用他们的行动和习俗演绎着对神的虔诚,对祖先的眷念及对生命的特殊理解。他们被称为中国最后一个枪族部落,大树的民族。他们过着大部分中国人所向往的桃源生活,享受着现代人已久违的那份清淡与宁静。这就是至今仍信仰着人树同体的贵州从江县岜沙苗人。     

挖掘初中作文教学的学生潜力

学生作文语意表达不清,枯燥无味,主要是头脑中积累的词汇句子太少。只有让学生多读,才能开拓学生的思路,提高学生的写作能力。知识积累是过程,熟练运用是目的。在习作中,要教育学生恰当运用多种修辞手法表达语意,增强文章的感染力和语言的说服力,使抽象的内容具体形象生动。