Interpretive field geomorphology as cognitive,social, embodied and affective epistemic practice

This article examines the epistemic practices of interpretive field geomorphology—that is, the in-the-moment act of “seeing the landscape” geomorphologically. Drawing on the philosophical works of Wittgenstein and Merleau-Ponty, it aims to bring to light the complex, multi-dimensional, knowledge-producing process of field observation and interpretation. Methodologically the study is based on geomorphologists' accounts of their fieldwork, gathered through questionnaire and interviews. By paying attention to what geomorphologists say they are doing in the field, interpretive field geomorphology is articulated as a combined cognitive, social, embodied, and affective experience through which understanding is arrived at. The paper thus sheds light on one part of what Brierley et al. call “the dark art” of geomorphological interpretation, and draws out implications in terms of researcher positionality, researcher training, and offering an epistemic justification for field-based pedagogies.     

TEXTS AND TRADITIONS IN CHINESE AND COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY

This article considers Quentin Skinner's critique and methodology in his seminal essay “Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas” vis-à-vis the current methodological debates in Chinese and comparative philosophy. It surveys the different ways in which philosophers who work with ancient Chinese texts in those related fields deal with the tension between textual contexts and autonomy and how some of the errors criticized by Skinner under the mythology of coherence, mythology of doctrines, mythology of parochialism, and mythology of prolepsis might apply to those fields. It argues that Skinner's insistence that understanding a text requires recovering its author's intended meaning by studying its linguistic context has limited application to Chinese and comparative philosophy because those fields’ most important texts are not best understood as means of communication by specific historical authors with intended messages to convey to readers. These texts are instead the means by which Chinese traditions perpetuate their respective beliefs and practices. Instead of being circumscribed by authorial intent, the meanings of traditional texts are dynamic and co-created in the process of producing, reproducing, and consuming texts as well as in the evolution of practices that also constitute each tradition. The meanings received by the audience are never exactly what authors or transmitters intended but have been transformed by each audience's own concerns and interests, even if the audience attempts to grasp what the former intended. Using the Five Classics and the Analects as examples, this article illustrates how such texts’ purposes to teach and perpetuate the practices that constitute a way of life determine their meanings. Understanding is not merely cognitive but practical as well. The meanings of such texts are not static but dynamic as traditions evolve. The debates about methods of reading and interpreting ancient Chinese texts are also debates about the nature of Chinese traditions and struggles over their futures.     

New Philadelphia: using augmented reality to interpret slavery and reconstruction era historical sites

Does a historical site lose its significance or become less worthy of interpretation if there are no surviving buildings? Can technology help present the stories of disadvantaged and disenfranchised groups whose heritage lacks well-preserved architecture or material culture? The emerging technology of augmented reality (AR) offers new ways of designing and shaping the public’s experience when visiting landmarks by enabling an unprecedented means to combine 3D historical visualization with historical landmarks. This especially applies to underrepresented groups whose heritages have not been well served by traditional modes of preservation and interpretation due to a variety of factors. These range from disadvantages relating to material culture to a greater emphasis on intangible heritage which have placed them outside the bounds of what archaeologist Laurajane Smith calls authorised heritage discourse. A project at the New Philadelphia National Historic Landmark, located in Pike County Illinois, seeks to address these issues through AR. The technology, while offering opportunities for historical interpretation, poses challenges in terms of designing AR systems that coordinate content presentation with specific locations as well as developing virtual historical content with varying levels of source materials.     

EXTENDED MEANING AND UNDERSTANDING IN THE HISTORY OF IDEAS

Many historians focus primarily on authors' “intended meanings.” Yet all textual interpreters, including historians, need a second kind of meaning. I call this idea “extended meaning,” a new name for an old idea: “P means Q” is the same as “P logically implies Q.” Extended and intended meaning involve different kinds of understanding: even if we grasp exactly what authors meant, we miss something important if we overlook their errors, for example. Crucially, extended and intended meaning are not alternatives: just as some parts of texts cannot be understood without historical analysis, so too some parts of texts cannot be understood without philosophical analysis. Indeed, some historians are adept at using extended meanings to recover intended meanings. But the failure to make this explicit has led many historians to undervalue philosophical analysis. This article thus applies the idea of extended meaning to three practical questions: whether we can deviate from authors' intended meanings, whether we can use anachronisms, and how we can use extended meanings to recover intended meanings. The idea of extended meaning thus strengthens our theoretical foundations and offers valuable practical tools.     

Archaeozoological research on vertebrates in Central Europe with special reference to the medieval period

This paper is the outcome of a lecture held at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. It provides a summary in English of the archaeozoological research work which has been carried out in Central Europe during the last 30 years, with special reference to material from medieval times. It is shown that a thorough zoological analysis of bones from excavations provides much information for historical interpretation. Not only was the ratio of wild and domestic animals or of the different species of interest, but also the age and sex structure of the population by taking the function of the site into consideration. Some observations on animal teeth gave indications of distinctive handicrafts. Cut marks on cervical vertebrae of horse skeletons found as grave goods from early medieval times were considered in connection with beliefs and juridical conceptions of that time.     

《九店楚简》释文注释校补

本文借助于最新的红外线照片,对九店楚简中几个字的释读提出了新的认识;同时通过对藏简的重新整理,新发现了为《九店楚简》一书漏收的两枚竹简。     

芥川龙之介文学中的女性形象

芥川龙之介一生共创作了148个短篇作品,涉猎女性形象的作品共76篇,其中女性形象色彩浓重38篇,涵盖知识女性、劳动女性、农妇甚至妓女等多个层面。这些形形色色的女性形象不仅如实地反映了作者的审美指向及其女性观,也浓缩了当时女性所处的社会地位和境遇。本文将其女性形象分为古典、现代与中国题材三大类,在分析芥川对女性所持态度的同时,考察作为大正时期知识分子的精英,其笔下诸多女性形象的文化内涵。     

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”。     

Looking over the Archaeologists’ Shoulders: Web-based Public Outreach in the Deep Wrecks Project

This article presents a case study of how the PAST Foundation partnered with other agencies and organizations to develop a successful public outreach website focusing on the Gulf of Mexico “Deep Wrecks” project in the late summer of 2004.     

寿县李三孤堆楚器的研究与探索

本文介绍了李三孤堆楚墓所出青铜器的流散和收藏慵况,回顾了自20世纪30年代初至今学者们对这批楚器的研究历程及成果,并从铭文释读、器物形制、器群主人及其埋葬环境几方面分别阐述了各家之说,最后通过回顾和分析总结出目前这一研究中存在的问题,提出了深入进行这一研究的重要意义,并指出了今后的研究方向。