The ‘Social Construction’ of David Schneider as ‘A Giant of Anthropology’

David Schneider is widely regarded as one of the great anthropologists of our times. This article questions this opinion. First it shows that his fieldwork on the Micronesian island of Yap evidences ethnographic insensitivity, particularly on the matter of an alleged ignorance of physiological paternity, thus calling into question his supposed concern with getting at native understandings. The alleged ignorance forms the ethnographic basis for his later critique of established kinship studies. This, plus his ignorance of lexical marking, invalidates the critique. Even worse is his study of American kinship and its related theory of culture, both consisting mostly of top-of-the-head impressions unrelated to specific operations.     

法国大革命时期关于非婚生子女生父搜索的争论

生父搜索指非婚生子女或其生母为了获得抚养费或提出财产要求而公开指认其生父的诉请权。18世纪法国的法理、习俗与法律鼓励生父搜索。法国大革命时期对此进行了激烈的争论,最终导致生父搜索的取消。为了强化这一点,保护合法的父家长制的家庭及其财产的安全,1804年《法国民法典》完全禁止生父搜索。     

Dominant Language–Ethnicity Notions of the Malaysian Chinese in Sarawak: Paternity or Patrimony?

This study examines the relationship between language and ethnicity in the identities of Malaysian Chinese, using Fishman’s (1977) dimensions of paternity, patrimony and phenomenology. The data for the study were taken from language attitude questionnaires completed by 300 Chinese (150 Foochow, 150 Hokkien) and interviews with 18 participants (nine Foochow, nine Hokkien) living in Kuching, the capital city of the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The questionnaire results suggest that Chinese from the Foochow and Hokkien participant groups believe in both the paternity and patrimony dimensions of ethnicity, but the interview results also revealed a tendency towards viewing ethnicity as an inherited characteristic. Some are of the view that those who are of Foochow/Hokkien descent but cannot speak the ethnic language are “half Foochow/Hokkien”. The interview results also suggest that comparatively more Hokkien participants than Foochow participants may be inclined towards the patrimonial view of ethnicity. This finding is further supported by questionnaire results showing more frequent use of the ethnic language (Foochow/Hokkien) by the Hokkien than by the Foochow. Both sources of data provide evidence that Foochow and Hokkien in Malaysia use Mandarin for daily communication to a greater extent than their ethnic language. The findings indicate that ethnic language use is linked to conceptualisation of ethnicity.     

The irreparable and the imprevidible: fathers and failures at Joyce's family circus

This paper reconsiders ideas of the father in Joyce's writing. It does so by examining in detail those ideas as they are elucidated through circus anecdote and imagery. The focus rests decisively on Ulysses (1922), but references to Joyce's earlier writing and to Finnegans Wake (1939) demonstrate the enduring popularity of the circus as image or metaphor for the author. The paper works broadly to contextualise hitherto overlooked circus references within the history of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century popular culture – Joyce is here connected to circus clown Johnny Patterson, music hall star Henry Clifton, and artist Jack B. Yeats. Through this history, it appears that Joyce imitates others in placing male authorities within both actual and invented circus rings to question legitimate influence in local domestic and wider social settings. It moves between these two locations to assess disquieting consequences of imagining political authority within this particular performance space in the fraught period of Irish history from 1904 to 1922.