试论英国启蒙运动兴起的历史条件

英国启蒙运动作为欧洲启蒙运动的先声具有其相应的历史必然性。除去资本主义经济发展兴起的基本历史条件外,英国分层而富于流动性的社会结构、独特的政治文化传统、科学革命和轰轰烈烈的宗教改革运动都起了各自应有的历史作用。     

Higher education students as political actors: evidence from England and Ireland

Higher education (HE) students have often been viewed as important political actors in wider society, stemming largely from their activities in the 1960s. Nevertheless, like much of the literature on youth political participation, research has rarely explored the extent to which student political participation varies across nation-states. This article begins to redress this gap by drawing upon data collected from focus groups with undergraduate students in England and Ireland, alongside an analysis of relevant policy documents from both countries. Overall, we argue that, whilst English and Irish students expressed similar desires to be politically active, they differed in the extent to which they felt empowered to take up such roles and the perceived scope of their influence. Similar differences were evident, to some extent, in the way in which students’ political activity was seen by policymakers. These cross-national differences are explained with reference to contextual factors and, in particular, variation in the degree of HE marketisation in the two countries. There is also evidence to suggest that students are sensitive to the way in which they are constructed in policy, which affects their sense of themselves as political actors.     

19世纪中前期慈善主导英国下层初等教育原因

19世纪中前期,在宗教热情、社会稳定及中产阶级雄心等的刺激下,英国慈善事业空前繁荣。这一时期,政府机构不完善,不能承担正常的初等教育职能。而教育具有社会控制功能,能使社会下层服从既定的社会秩序,因此,以宗教团体为代表的各种慈善力量成为下层社会初等教育办学的主力军。     

Trust,Capitalism and Contract in English Economic History: 1500-1750

As most market transactions involved the extension of informal credit because of a lack of ready cash, this meant that interpersonal trust was of central importance, and, as a result, a reputation for honesty and fair dealing in the community was vital to being successful. Money was used only in a limited number of exchanges, and credit, in the form of household reputation, was a “cultural currency” of trust used to transact most business. Trust, belief, and credit all went together, and no distinction was made between economic and social credit, as credit produced wealth and status of the middling sort. As the market expanded in the late sixteenth century, networks of credit became more intertwined over longer geographical distances, and thus trust became more problematic, and disputes over debts led to contention. These produced an enormous amount of litigation as the common law was increasingly used to enforce contracts. This led to much downward mobility through over-indebtedness, which reinforced the social importance of having good credit, and consequently the culture of credit became increasingly legalised. Although competition for credit together with the need to maintain household profitability put stress on the social maintenance of trust in the market, the economy could not work without it. As a result, the increase in commerce was seen as an essentially sociable activity because it required trust. Trust gradually came to be interpreted as the basis of justice, and the necessity of keeping promises, as the foundation of all social organisation. But by 1750 litigation had collapsed to a very low level, and self- control and politeness on the part of rational individuals came to play a more important role in dispute settlement than legal means. Whereas in the early modern period conflict occurred and was dealt with after its occurrence, self-control aimed to prevent inter-personal conflict and litigation before they happened. As a result, the concepts of “capital” and “savings” developed in the eighteenth century, and the structure of credit networks was changed.     

Homicide and ‘Englishness’: Criminal Justice and National Identity in Victorian England

One venue for the formation of national identity that has received comparatively little attention in recent years, is that of the courtroom. In particular, the treatment of serious crimes in Victorian England involved a good deal of reference to notions of Englishness. In the course of their routine work, Victorian criminal courts promulgated particular and generally coherent views as to how ‘an Englishman’, as opposed to a foreigner, was expected to behave. This article examines how the judicial treatment of three types of nineteenth‐century violence – the duel, knife‐fighting and the killing of an adulterous spouse or his or her lover – contributed to reshaping the contours of male English national identity.     

知识共同体--维多利亚文人的智性探求

没有哪个时代像维多利亚时代这样如此关注知识的本质问题。当时几乎所有重要的文人都在思考知识问题，探求人类智性的边界，反思认识活动带来的后果。尽管他们的学科领域看似泾渭分明，关注焦点也各有不同，然而细读和比较会让我们发现，他们的话语在深层处彼此交叠，相互渗透，形成了一个独特的知识共同体。这个共同体追求整体性而非分化的专业知识，看重健全心智而非职业人士的培养；他们把知识与道德价值和审美情趣紧密关联，成为动荡时代为大众提供精神导引的中坚力量。     

马克思、恩格斯论述资本主义早期工人生活的 真实语境 ——论《资本主义与历史学家》的谬误

围绕“19 世纪资本主义早期工业化发展对工人阶级生存状况的影响”这一论题,哈耶克等人 向马克思、恩格斯发难,指责《英国工人阶级状况》对工人阶级生活遭遇的真实记录是对资本主义和 工业革命的全然否定。实际上,马克思和恩格斯并未否认资本主义早期工业化之前工人的生活已经面 临的各种苦难,而是拒绝借用这种苦难的面纱来掩人耳目,无视工人阶级在 19 世纪资本主义工业化早 期依然艰难甚至深化的困苦的生存境遇。他们强调,相对而言的社会进步,并不能掩盖工人阶级表现 不同但实质相同的异化处境。马克思、恩格斯正是在考察工人阶级劳动与生存状况的过程中,发现了 工人阶级作为变革社会的历史主体所背负的伟大使命。     

《英民史记》的译述及其在晚清中国的意义

《英民史记》是清末出版的英国史译著,由加拿大医师马林译自英国史学家约翰.理查.格林著的《英国人民简史》。此书并不是忠实于原著的译本,但却具有资产阶级史学的特点,并与当时的"新史学"潮流相结合,对中国的史学发展、资产阶级自由、平等、民主理念的传播及推动立宪都起到积极作用。