From resistance to revolution: the limits of nonviolence in Arendt’s ‘Civil Disobedience’

ABSTRACT

Arendt’s work on civil disobedience sets out an optimistic portrayal of the possibilities of such forms of action in re-energising the spirit of American politics in the late twentieth century. Civil disobedience should not simply be tolerated, she argued, but incorporated into the legal structure of the American political system. Her work is usually seen to promote an idea of civil disobedience that is thus bound to existing constitutional principles and essentially nonviolent. However, by looking at Arendt’s discussion and critique of various practices of civil disobedience in 1960s and 1970s America, specifically in relation to the nonviolence movement influenced by Martin Luther King, and on the other side, the more militant Black Power movement, a different idea of civil disobedience emerges. This paper argues that whilst, for Arendt, civil disobedience within America certainly possesses the constitutionally restorative potential she assigns to it, in a broader sense – theoretically, globally, and even in terms of alternative ideologies within America – her conception of civil disobedience is in itself neither necessarily constitutional, nor nonviolent. It is, instead, a form of revolutionary action, whose limits are set only by politics itself, and specifically, Arendt’s criterion of publicity.     

Identification Technique for Soil-Structure Analysis of the Ghirlandina Tower

Historical towers, in particular medieval towers, are an important part of cultural heritage, and their preservation mandates monitoring and detailed analyses of vulnerability under seismic actions as well as of their long-term performance. Certain aspects of structural nature are linked to the masonry behavior as a unilateral material, and other are aspects related to the interaction with soft soil conditions. This study aims to contribute to the aspects of preservation by exploring the role of the soil-structure interaction in predicting the behavior of the structures, with specific reference to the well-documented case history of the medieval Ghirlandina Tower (Modena, Italy). A significant contribution comes from an experimental identification analysis, performed in the presence of ambient vibration. A novel finding is that the soil structure interaction cannot be neglected, in contrast to most published identification analyses that usually assume the structure to have rigid constraint at base.     

14C测定判别武王克商年代范围始末

武王克商年代是我国古代编年中的一个关键点,近年来^14C测定技术有了重要发展,我国^14C测年界在此基础上探讨了^14C方法应用于商周历史纪年的希望。1996年夏商周断代工程正式立项,利用^14C测定判别武王克商年代范围的任务得以实施。1998年初两个常规^14C实验室以3‰测定精度,前后开始对陕西丰镐遗址出土样品^14C测定,并于1998年10月6－7日先后公布了^14C数据,提出武王克商代范围应判别在公元前1050－1020年间。1998年下半年AMS室开始测定。三室测定数据对比结果基本相合,利用殷墟,琉璃河等遗址出土的样品系列作^14C测定得出的结果,与上述年代范围一致。1998年11月30日公布了天计算结果,与测定结果不谋而合,经多方面反复验证,历时近二年,都无法动摇已有的判别结果,具有较高的可信度。     

山西省万荣县寿圣寺塔的多视角影像三维重建

为了制定山西省万荣县寿圣寺塔的保护规划方案,需制作具有真实纹理的三维模型,但砖塔等大型不可移动文物的三维重建难度很大,制作成本一直很高。为此,本研究运用无人机拍摄和地面拍摄多视角影像的技术,制作寿圣寺塔的三维模型,生成各个立面的正射影像图,量算砖塔的高度、宽度等尺寸数据,为这类文物的三维重建提供一种新的技术和方法。     

商纣俎醢侯伯新证

战国秦汉时的文献中常言商王纣脯醢俎杀诸侯方伯,并认为这是周武王兴兵讨伐、商纣亡国的一个主要原因。古今不少学者对此多有怀疑。今地下出土的晚商金文及殷墟甲骨文资料可证商纣俎醢酋长侯伯并祭祀先王完全是历史事实。从殷墟卜辞看,商代从武丁起以人为牲的情况呈递减趋势。商纣俎醢酋长侯伯不是个人品质性格问题,而是殷人文化习俗观念使然。     

说花园庄东地甲骨卜辞的“丁”——附:释“速”

最近公布的殷墟花园庄东地甲骨卜辞中,多次出现一位当时还活着的、称为“丁”的人物,从卜辞内容可以看出其地位甚高。本文主要通过指出这批卜辞中与历组一类占卜同事的一组卜辞,肯定了“丁”就是当时的商王武丁。以“丁”称呼时王武丁,究竟应该如何解释尚待进一步研究。同时,也可以进一步推定这批卜辞的时代,当为武丁晚期而非整理者认为的“武丁前期”。此外,这批卜辞中多次出现的一个整理者隶定作“”的字,应释为“速”,意为“召”、“召请”。旧有殷墟卜辞中一个或释读为“眚”、“软”、“喘”等的字,应释为“” ,读为咳嗽之“嗽”。     

殷墟妇好墓主身份辨——与张素凤、卜师霞商榷

笔者不赞成<也谈"妇好墓">一文,把青铜器铭文"妇好"解释为精魂借助的托魂树,具有通天地的巫术功能,从而提出"妇好墓"墓主不是商王武丁配偶而是神职人员--巫觋的学术观点.从青铜器铭文解释、商代青铜礼器判定标准、祭祀者与受祭对象、甲骨文中的妇好和殷墟妇好墓出土的带"妇好"、"司辛"、"司母辛"的青铜器铭文等方面看,妇好墓墓主是商王武丁的法定配偶--妇好.     

吴之邗城非干国考辨

一直以来,人们都将《管子.小问》中的"吴干战"与《左传》记载的"吴城邗"联系起来,并因此认定吴王夫差是在干国故都"城邗,沟通江淮"。本文通过对相关历史文献和考古资料的深入研究与辨析,提出吴干战不在江北之广陵,邗城不是干国,邗王是晋人专称的观点。     

“元王诗”考索

自宋代以来,《汉书》所载元王诗多被人目为《鲁诗》,但其证据存在诸多疑点。因此,考察《元王诗》的归属是进一步地弄清汉代《诗经》传承版图的一个重要内容。本文从《元王诗》被看作《鲁诗》的过程出发,具体分析了《元王诗》非《鲁诗》的原因,并比对了刘向《诗》学观点与楚元王封地附近的汉代《诗》简,从而最终判定《元王诗》是汉代《诗经》传授中的独立一支,刘向所习主要是《元王诗》而非《鲁诗》。所以从刘向《诗》学中辑考的鲁诗也非《鲁诗》。     

England,France, the papacy and the Flemish succession, 1361-9

International politics in the 1360s were dominated by a diplomatic duel between England and France to secure the marriage of Margaret de Male, only child of the count of Flanders and ‘the richest heiress in christendom’. This struggle ultimately involved every major European power, including the papacy and the Empire, and resulted in wars in areas as far apart as Hainault, Castile and Lombardy. It was eventually won by the French, leaving the English with a bitter resentment both toward the Flemings and, more especially, towards the papacy, which had been instrumental in securing the victory for France.