William Edward Hanley Stanner 1905-1981

Liberal multiculturalism as practised in Australia makes demands upon Indigenous minorities to demonstrate their traditionality. Taking examples from recent Australian land and native title claims, the paper illustrates notions of ‘tradition’ generated and applied in these processes. It explores the demand for tradition as an aspect of a liberal economy of values, showing that limitations of liberal perspectives in regard to the recognition of indigenous entitlement are inherent to its economistic framework. It suggests kinds of issues that need to be addressed in the envisioning of a post-liberal approach.     

Adapting to Empire: William H. Taft,Theodore Roosevelt,and the Philippines, 1900–08

Abstract

Following the Spanish-American War of 1898, the USA became a true, European-style imperial power, with overseas colonies populated by diverse peoples with few — if any — connections to American culture and history. The wide-ranging imperial debate that followed 1898 brought two future US presidents firmly to the fore: the New York politician and war hero, Theodore Roosevelt, and the Ohio judge, William H. Taft. This article explores the complex development of these two politicians’ views on the Philippines during this period of imperial rule. Roosevelt began the period as an ardent imperialist and changed his views to reflect a change in US public opinion and strategic concerns. Conversely, Taft began by being a sceptic about US imperialism but ultimately became one of the most ardent retentionists. This article not only charts their paths to convergence and then their subsequent divergence in attitude towards Philippines policy, but also brings to light the much underestimated role that Taft played in keeping Roosevelt from moving the Republican Party away from its policy of retaining control of the islands. Although many historians see Taft as a loyal servant of Roosevelt’s vision for the USA prior to 1909, this article argues that, when it came to the Philippines, Taft was actually the key driver of US policy throughout this period.     

Under Erasure: William Kentridge,Derrida, and Post-Apartheid South Africa

This article aims to read the work of South African artist William Kentridge through the prism of Jacques Derrida’s notion of trace. Kentridge utilizes a unique style of filmic animation: charcoal pictures drawn on a single piece of paper, where the animation is achieved by erasing and re-drawing parts of the picture, and then filming the image again. I will argue that this technique, as well as Kentridge’s focus on deferral, memory, and identity, share an affinity with the philosophical, aesthetic, ethical, and political aspects of Derrida’s trace. Drawing attention to the trace—a paradox of presence, where motion is achieved precisely by the deferred nonpresence in each drawing—Kentridge acknowledges, in a similar way to Derrida, the impossibility of ontological thought and knowing. In post-apartheid South Africa, this is not only an aesthetic statement but a political one as well. By maintaining the traces, Kentridge concedes that knowing should be deferred, acknowledging that what we know about the other is limited, if not impossible, and that the apartheid regime’s attempt to master the other was violent and erroneous.     

The Emergence of Environmental Sociology: Contributions of Riley E. Dunlap and William R. Catton, Jr.

Human beings have a dualistic relationship with the environment, being subject to physical and biological limits and yet being unique in the capacity for culture and symbolic communication. Sociology reflects this context and adds another dualism, drawing heavily from the concepts and perspectives of biological ecology, but reacting almost violently against "reductionism" of any sort, specifically including social Darwinism and environmental determinism. During much of the twentieth century, the predominant trend within sociology was for scholars to downplay or even ignore the importance of the environment, particularly in the United States. This trend was ultimately counterbalanced by sociological responses to the environmental movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s and by the efforts of selected sociologists-particulady Riley Dunlap and William Catton-who helped bring together the field of "environmental sociology." Given the finite nature of many natural resources and the ways in which human activities depend upon and affect the environment, the field of environmental sociology is likely to be an increasingly important one in the years to come.     

Training in Depth Interviewing,William H. Banaka,New York: Harper and Row, 1971. 196 Pages, $3.95, Paperback

This paper reports on a communication assessment/development and evaluation program for directors, managers, and supervisors of a large metropolitan welfare department, with the involvement of the School of Social Work faculty at the University of Minnesota and a communications consultant, through the mechanism of a staff development project. In addition, it points out three significant future challenges oriented toward: (1) school of social work curriculum development, (2) responsibility of welfare agencies to provide training opportunities in management and communication, and (3) the support needs of governmental agencies.