Elite women in the Ukrainian Hetmanate

The history of the Ukrainian Hetmanate has been studied from the perspective of war, political struggle, and diplomacy. This article studies various aspects of women’s lives in Cossack society: their legal status, economic rights, role in society, relations with husbands and sons, the tradition of women’s presence at formal receptions, and their interference in political life. It is also about “women in politics,” “witches,” sex and premarital relations, kidnappings, and love affairs. The general argument is that the position of Ukrainian women was closer to that of women in Catholic Poland than in Muscovy.     

No Room for Respectability: Boundary Work in Interaction at a Shanghai Rental

This article examines the dramaturgical challenges of doing boundary work for a group of college women living with non‐college women at an overcrowded rental. To regulate tenant conduct and maintain their sense of self‐worth, the college women engaged in defensive othering and constructed their identity as “high‐quality” people on the basis of their characterization of their less‐educated roommates as “low‐quality” people. Their strategy of gaining self‐worth at their roommates' expense violated basic rules of social interaction that require participants to give face to gain face. This study shows that, in addition to weakening group solidarity and reproducing social inequalities, defensive othering also undermines subordinates' effort to gain self‐worth in the co‐presence of other subordinates. A video abstract is available at http://tinyurl.com/yath4o65     

Unravelling Memories of Family Separation Among Sri Lankan Tamils Resettled in Australia, 1983–2000

Abstract

Using life story interviews with 10 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees resettled in Australia, this article shows how family separation in experiences of civil war and resettlement produce long-lasting and emotional memories of fear and determination. The findings explore how young Tamil people gave meaning to family when they interacted with key individuals and negotiated cultural practices in different spaces. Moreover, intergenerational family narratives emerged as a key practice through which Tamils preserved the family identity. The analysis demonstrates how and when family separation can manifest in personal memories to reveal stories of agency and resilience. A critical engagement of the past can help to better understand concepts of childhood in relation to family and family separation in war affected diaspora communities.     

Israel's military public diplomacy evolution: Historical and conceptual dimensions

This study provides an historical overview of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit (ISU) from the early years of the State of Israel until 2009. Analyzing five periods during which the ISU played a key role in Israel's public diplomacy, this research sheds light on the challenges the ISU faced in different periods and circumstances and examines how the ISU tried to modify its methods and actions in response to geopolitical changes and media development, albeit not always successfully. The study suggests better understanding the adaptation process by applying a three-layer framework for analysis: the tactical layer, the strategic layer and the perceptional layer. The findings of this work demonstrate that in adapting to new circumstances, the ISU focused mainly on the tactical response level, with the result that it did not undertake any review or debate over the need for deeper perceptional changes in ISU policies.     

The Relevance of Modernity to Contemporary East Asia: An Outline

This article offers a framework for exploring the relevance of modernity to contemporary East Asia. I first examine different conceptualizations of modernity, paying special attention to Eisenstadt's influential concept of multiple modernities. Second, I point out the limitations and flaws of Eisenstadt's theory by drawing on nationalist politics in East Asia as an illustrative case. In particular, I examine the so-called “history perception problem,” which has been created by war and shaped by the legacies of war, to demonstrate the peculiar features of modernity in East Asia. Third, I use the works by three scholars as examples to show how intellectuals in China, South Korea, and Taiwan respond to the tensions between universalism and particularism, which, as a whole, reflect what can be called “East Asian modernity.” And finally, I try to respond to the controversial but fashionable question that is peculiar to East Asia: can modernity be overcome? It is argued that East Asia can be understood through the lens of modernity, and vice versa. Nowadays, modernity has become a global condition in both geographical and topological senses. It is not something to be overcome, but a condition that we all live in and should learn to live with, here and now.     

新旧“大历史”：前提假设、范围与可能性

近年来,大卫·克里斯蒂安等人已经将“大历史”提升为一种研究过去的新方法。本文将大历史与旧大历史、也就是“普遍史”传统并列。“新”大历史或者以一种连续的神学为基础,或者建立在一种唯物主义形式之上,这种唯物主义被看作人类历史决定因素,或者起源于两者多少有些矛盾的混合。新旧大历史例示的“大跨度历史”与其说是对历史知识的贡献,不如说是这种或那种世界观的叙述化过程。在区分最大跨度历史与“仅仅是”大跨度历史过程中,在历史书写过程中满足大跨度历史要求的更好方法是更适度的尝试,例如,大跨度比较史、网络与交流史、专题史和现代化史。     

比较与融合:马克思主义哲学中国化的有效途径

与各种形式的哲学观点展开直接的对话交流,是当代中国马克思主义哲学发展过程中一个不可回避的现实境遇和路径选择。从我国改革开放和现代化建设的具体实践出发,着眼于世界历史变革和未来发展,以马克思主义哲学批判性思维为工具,分析比较中国哲学、西方哲学产生的不同文化背景、致思特点和理论旨趣,大胆地吸收借鉴其中所蕴藏的合理因素和思想营养,必将丰富充实马克思主义哲学的理论宝库,从而推进马克思主义哲学中国化的伟大历史进程。     

东南亚华人地域认同的历史和未来

东南亚华人的地域认同,是华人研究的课题之一.按照其历史形态的演化过程,可以从心理地理空间认同、政治地理空间认同和跨国社会地理空间认同这个三重性维度进行考察.     

汪曾祺小说审美特征生成论

在20世纪文学史中,汪曾祺发现了人在日常生活中的生存及其审美意义,为我们提供了一幅关于人和谐、欢悦的生存的图景,从而迥异于主流小说的风格.汪曾祺温暖而独特的小说,既是中国20世纪历史变迁的产物,也是他从个体知识分子走向民间的产物,是知识分子文化与民间文化融合的产物.     

新时期社会转型的中国经验——新时期社会转型与和谐社会构建问题战略层面上的比较价值

中国新时期社会转型与和谐社会构建问题,是中国经济社会发展进程中提出和探索的具有全局性、战略性的双重命题,是对我国现代社会发展规律的基本认识,也是对中国改革与发展进程的一种新的理解.这双重命题必须同时上升为执政党和政府的时代性理念,必须置于中国特色社会主义这一"核心主题"的主流分析框架之下;必须从同等程度意义上,上升为执政党和政府的战略性决策层面;改革开放30年的今天,迫切需要分析中国特色社会主义的现代社会转型与和谐社会构建的内在联系;必须从真理性与价值性之统一的角度解析中国特色的现代社会转型与和谐社会构建问题双重命题的同等程度范畴的现实价值.