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Historical Research (historical + research)
Selected AbstractsClues, Margins, and Monads: The Micro,Macro Link in Historical ResearchHISTORY AND THEORY, Issue 3 2001Matti Peltonen This article discusses the new microhistory of the 1970s and 1980s in terms of the concept of exceptional typical, and contrasts the new microhistory to old microhistory, in which the relationship between micro and macro levels of phenomena was defined by means of the concepts of exceptionality and typicality. The focus of the essay is on Carlo Ginzburg's method of clues, Walter Benjamin's idea of monads, and Michel de Certeau's concept of margins. The new microhistory is also compared with methodological discussions in the social sciences. In the mid-1970s concepts like the micro,macro link or the microfoundations of macrotheory were introduced in sociology and economics. But these largely worked in terms of the concepts of typicality or exceptionality, and this has proved to be problematic. Only historians have developed concepts that escape these and the older definitions of the micro,macro relationship; indeed, the "new microhistory" can best be described in terms of the notion of "exceptional typical." The essay explores the meaning of this notion. [source] ,The Great Prohibition': The Expansion of Christianity in Colonial Northern NigeriaHISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 6 2010Andrew E. Barnes Historical research on the spread of Christianity in colonial Northern Nigeria has been hampered by a focus on the wrong issues. The population of the colony was predominantly Muslim, but the colonial territory created by the British contained large populations of African traditionalist peoples. During the colonial era the British government prohibited Christian proselytization of Muslims. Historical research had focused on the battle between colonial administrators and missionaries over entry into Muslim areas, a battle missionaries lost. But during the colonial era Christian missions experienced real success in Christianizing traditionalist peoples. The colonial government also sought to impede this development, significantly by using the same rules that prohibited the proselytization of Muslims to prohibit the proselytization of traditionalists. This article makes the case that the government's efforts to halt the spread of Christianity to traditionalists, not Muslims, should become the focus of new research. [source] The Domestic Soldier: British Housewives and the Nation in the Second World War1HISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2006Jennifer Purcell Historical research has previously emphasized the experiences of women in paid employment over those of housewives during the Second World War. Recent historians have begun to redress this imbalance; however, more research is necessary in order to understand the ways in which women, as housewives, perceived their part in the war effort. This article considers the ways in which housewives negotiated conflicting messages aimed at women during the war in order to create a place for themselves in the British nation. [source] Gender and Ethnic Differences in Marital Assimilation in the Early Twentieth Century,INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW, Issue 3 2005Sharon Sassler Historical research on intermarriage has overlooked how distinctive patterns of ethnic settlement shape partner choice and assumed that the mate selection process operated the same way for men and women. This study utilizes a sample of youn married adults drawn from the 1910 Census IPUMS to examine 1) whether ethnic variation in partner choice was shaped by differences in group concentration and distribution and 2) if factors shaping outmarriage were gendered. About one fifth of young married Americans had spouses of a different ethnic background in 1910, though there was considerable ethnic variation in outmarriage propensities. Barriers to intermarriage fell at different rates, depending upon ethnic grou, sex, and region of settlement; they were weakest for first-and seconl eneration English men. Structural factors such as group size operatef differently for men and women; while larger group representation increased men's odds of outmarriage to both native stock and other white ethnic wives, women from the ethnic groups with the largest presence were significantly more likely to wed fellow ethnics than the native stock. Ultimately, even if they resided in the same location, the marriage market operated in different ways for ethnic women and men in search of mates. [source] Postcolonial Transitions in Africa: Decolonization in West Africa and Present Day South AfricaJOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 5 2010Stephanie Decker abstract Black Economic Empowerment is a highly debated issue in contemporary South Africa. Yet few South Africans realize that they are following a postcolonial trajectory already experienced by other countries. This paper presents a case study of British firms during decolonization in Ghana and Nigeria in the 1950s and 1960s, which saw a parallel development in business and society to that which occurred in South Africa in the 1990s and 2000s. Despite fundamental differences between these states, all have had to empower a majority of black citizens who had previously suffered discrimination on the basis of race. The paper employs concepts from social capital theory to show that the process of postcolonial transition in African economies has been more politically and socially disruptive than empowerment in Western countries. Historical research contributes to our understanding of the nature of institutional shocks in emerging economies. [source] Historical Perspectives on Family StudiesJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 2 2000Stephanie Coontz This article explores the relationship of historical research to contemporary family studies. Family history was influenced greatly by fields such as sociology and anthropology, leading it to make several contributions to those fields in turn. The continuing collaboration of these disciplines can significantly enrich current family research, practice, and policy making. History's specific contribution lies in its attention to context. Although historical research confirms sociologic and ethnographic findings on the diversity of family forms, for example, it also reveals that all families are not created equal. The advantage of any particular type of family at any particular time is constructed out of contingent and historically variable social relationships. Historical research allows researchers to deepen their analysis of family diversity and family change by challenging widespread assumptions about what is and what is not truly new in family life. Such research complicates generalizations about the impact of family change and raises several methodological cautions about what can be compared and controlled for in analyzing family variations and outcomes. [source] Diet reconstruction in antebellum Baltimore: Insights from dental microwear analysisAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 4 2010Peter H. Ma Abstract Construction in the City of Baltimore during 1996 led to the recovery of human skeletal remains dating from 1792 to 1856. Historical research indicates that the skeletal remains come from two adjacent graveyards: Christ's Church Episcopalian Cemetery and the Potters Field East. The different socioeconomic status of the internees in each cemetery suggests the possibility of marked contrasts in lifestyle, health, and diet. To shed further light on these possibilities, analyses of microscopic wear patterns on teeth, or dental microwear analyses, were undertaken. A sample from Spanish Florida was used to help interpret the results. Epoxy casts of incisor and molar teeth were placed in an SEM and photomicrographs of clean wear facets were taken. The photomicrographs were digitized using the software package Microware 4.02. Statistical analyses of rank transformed data consisted of single-factor ANOVA, followed by post hoc tests. No significant differences were found between Christ's Church and Potters Field East samples for any of the variables examined in either molar or incisor teeth. However, differences between each Baltimore sample and the La Florida samples give suggestions of possible diet differences in antebellum Baltimore. The mosaic of differences between the Baltimore and La Florida samples probably reflects the wide variety of foods available to antebellum Baltimoreans as well as the relative lack of abrasives in their diet. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Application of the RASCAN holographic radar to cultural heritage inspectionsARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION, Issue 3 2009L. Capineri Abstract This paper explores the application of the RASCAN holographic radar for non-destructive subsurface imaging of works of art and architecture. This radar provides high-resolution plan-view images of the shallow subsurface in dielectric materials. The radar is particularly sensitive to small metallic targets, but also to variations in moisture content. Originally developed for detection of hidden bugging devices, sounding of building construction details, and detection of landmines, here the utility of the RASCAN radar for art and architectural preservation studies is demonstrated by several bench-top experiments on stone and wood items with different subsurface defects and features, as well as actual field tests on a decorative marble medallion in the floor of the Temple of San Biagio in Montepulciano, Italy, and Frescoes in the Church of San Rocco in Cornaredo, Italy. Historical research indicates that the medallion in San Biagio was laid circa 1590 during the funeral ceremony of a Prelatio of the family Casata Cervini. The actual burial place of the Prelatio is not recorded, but a radar scan of the medallion, and follow-up scans of a bench-top model suggest the possibility of a cavity that could contain remains or relics. In San Rocco, small delaminations were detected behind the frescos. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Digitizing and democratizing historical researchADDICTION, Issue 11 2006VIRGINIA BERRIDGE No abstract is available for this article. [source] Gender and Welfare Reform in Post- Revolutionary MexicoGENDER & HISTORY, Issue 1 2008Nichole Sanders This article discusses the impact a gender and woman's history conference had on the development of my own research and writing. ,Las Olvidadas' was a conference held at Yale in the Spring of 2001, and was the first in a series of Mexican women's and gender history conferences organised. My own research, on the gendered nature of the welfare state in Mexico, explores how class and race intersected with gender to produce a welfare system that, while particular to Mexico, also nevertheless had much in common with other Latin American countries. These conferences shaped both my views of gender, but also the importance of the transnational to historical research. [source] The Iberian Imprint on Medieval Southern ItalyHISTORY, Issue 311 2008PAUL OLDFIELD This article explores the Iberian influence on medieval southern Italy from the mid-eleventh to the mid-thirteenth century. While a great deal of historical research has uncovered the impact of many other regions on southern Italy that of Iberia has often been overlooked, at least before the famous Sicilian Vespers. Yet, both regions had notable commonalities and a variety of connections throughout the central middle ages. South Italian rulers demonstrated an enduring interest in the western Mediterranean (particularly in the Balearic Islands) and the security of its seas. King Roger II, William I and Frederick II all married Iberian princesses, each of whom played an important role in south Italian politics. These marriages maintained lines of communication between both regions and brought other Iberians to southern Italy. There is also evidence of contact through the development of scholarly courts and the emergence of centres of learning and translation in southern Italy and Iberia. Underpinning all of these relationships was the Mediterranean itself, which allowed for ease of movement, and on which thriving commercial activity connected the two regions. Finally, faith and pilgrimage offered another outlet for south Italians and Iberians of all denominations to interact with one another. [source] INTELLECTUAL HISTORY, INCONCEIVABILITY, AND METHODOLOGICAL HOLISM,HISTORY AND THEORY, Issue 1 2007BRANKO MITROVI ABSTRACT The debate between individualism and holism in the philosophy of history pertains to the nature of the entities relied on in historical explanations. The question is whether explanations of historical items (for example, events, actions, artifacts) require the assumption that the collective historical entities (for example, civilizations, cultures, and so on) used in these explanations are (sometimes) conceived of as irreducible to the actions, thoughts, and beliefs of individual human beings. In this paper I analyze two methodological problems that holist explanations face in the writing of intellectual history. The first problem derives from the fact that holist explanations in intellectual history have to rely on the claim that certain beliefs were inconceivable to some individuals because they were members of specific collectives, whereas it is unclear how historical research can justify such claims when made from the holist position. The second problem pertains to the difficulties the holist position faces when it has to account for the novel properties of artifacts studied by intellectual history. [source] LEON GOLDSTEIN AND THE EPISTEMOLOGY OF HISTORICAL KNOWING,HISTORY AND THEORY, Issue 2 2006LUKE O'SULLIVAN ABSTRACT Leon Goldstein's critical philosophy of history has suffered a relative lack of attention, but it is the outcome of an unusual story. He reached conclusions about the autonomy of the discipline of history similar to those of R. G. Collingwood and Michael Oakeshott, but he did so from within the Anglo-American analytic style of philosophy that had little tradition of discussing such matters. Initially, Goldstein attempted to apply a positivistic epistemology derived from Hempel's philosophy of natural science to historical knowledge, but gradually (and partly thanks to his interest in Collingwood) formulated an anti-realistic epistemology that firmly distinguished historical knowledge of the past not only from the scientific perspective but also from fictional and common-sense attitudes to the past. Among his achievements were theories of the distinctive nature of historical evidence and historical propositions, of the constructed character of historical events, and of the relationship between historical research and contemporary culture. Taken together, his ideas merit inclusion among the most important twentieth-century contributions to the problem of historical knowledge. [source] A Pragmatic Guide to Qualitative Historical Analysis in the Study of International RelationsINTERNATIONAL STUDIES PERSPECTIVES, Issue 4 2002Cameron G. Thies Researchers using qualitative methods, including case studies and comparative case studies, are becoming more self,conscious in enhancing the rigor of their research designs so as to maximize their explanatory leverage with a small number of cases. One aspect of qualitative research that has not received as much attention is the use of primary and secondary source material as data or evidence. This essay explores the potential problems encountered by political scientists as they conduct archival research or rely on secondary source material produced by historians. The essay also suggests guidelines for researchers to minimize the main problems associated with qualitative historical research, namely, investigator bias and unwarranted selectivity in the use of historical source materials. These guidelines should enable advanced undergraduates and graduate students to enhance the quality of their historically minded political science scholarship. [source] On Thanksgiving and Collective Memory: Constructing the American TraditionJOURNAL OF HISTORICAL SOCIOLOGY, Issue 3 2002Amy Adamczyk Relying on the approach by Maurice Halbwachs who argued that collective memory is based on contemporary interests and concerns, this article shows how Thanksgiving has changed over time in accordance with the ideas of the day. Aspects of the analysis support Barry Schwartz's theory that commemoration reflects the historical past. Similar to the pilgrims' celebration, many people commemorate Thanksgiving by, for example, feasting and praying. But in contrast to Schwartz's thought, this paper also shows that there are other elements of traditions that have minimal connection with the original event. Forms of commemoration like the Macy's Day Parade challenge the idea that commemoration and celebration contain some connection to the initial occasion. In general, the findings lend support to historical research and theories that implement social constructionist approaches. [source] Reported Speech and Other Kinds of TestimonyJOURNAL OF HISTORICAL SOCIOLOGY, Issue 3 2000Megan Vaughan This paper addresses the politics and practices of history and memory through an examination of the historiography of Malawi with reference to the literature on slavery. In the late 1970s, an oral historical research project in Malawi set out to ,uncover' the pre-colonial history of part of the Southern Region. Informed by new methods for oral historical research and by the post-colonial context, the testimonies collected were framed by a number of preconceptions and assumptions, particularly those related to the nature of ethnic identity. The paper analyses this framing and the nature of the texts produced. It goes on to examine briefly other forms of historical memory, and the question of ,forgetting'. [source] Historical Perspectives on Family StudiesJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 2 2000Stephanie Coontz This article explores the relationship of historical research to contemporary family studies. Family history was influenced greatly by fields such as sociology and anthropology, leading it to make several contributions to those fields in turn. The continuing collaboration of these disciplines can significantly enrich current family research, practice, and policy making. History's specific contribution lies in its attention to context. Although historical research confirms sociologic and ethnographic findings on the diversity of family forms, for example, it also reveals that all families are not created equal. The advantage of any particular type of family at any particular time is constructed out of contingent and historically variable social relationships. Historical research allows researchers to deepen their analysis of family diversity and family change by challenging widespread assumptions about what is and what is not truly new in family life. Such research complicates generalizations about the impact of family change and raises several methodological cautions about what can be compared and controlled for in analyzing family variations and outcomes. [source] Historical Analysis of Siderail Use in American HospitalsJOURNAL OF NURSING SCHOLARSHIP, Issue 4 2001Barbara L. Brush Purpose: To explore the social, economic, and legal influences on siderail use in 20th century American hospitals and how use of siderails became embedded in nursing practice. Design: Social historical research. Methods: Numerous primary and secondary sources were collected and interpreted to illustrate the pattern of siderail use, the value attached to siderails, and attitudes about using siderails. Findings: The persistent use of siderails in American hospitals indicates a gradual consensus between law and medicine rather than an empirically driven nursing intervention. Use of siderails became embedded in nursing practice as nurses assumed increasing responsibility for their actions as institutional employees. Conclusions: New federal guidelines, based on reports of adverse consequences associated with siderails, are limiting siderail use in hospitals and nursing homes across the United States. Lowering siderails and using alternatives will depend on new norms among health care providers, hospital administrators, bed manufacturers, insurers, attorneys, regulators, and patients and their families. [source] Judicial Independence and Political Representation: Prussian Judges as Parliamentary Deputies, 1849,1913LAW & SOCIAL INQUIRY, Issue 4 2000Kenneth F. Ledford The outrageous history of German judges during the Third Reich should not so structure historical research as to distract historians from examining their role in the nineteenth century. Prussian judges played an important role in electoral politics by serving as parliamentary deputies between 1849 and 1913. This essay poses and answers two questions: What was the political, legal, and social setting that led to judges sewing in parliament? And, why did their number decline after 1877? Theoretical discourses of separation of powers, construction of a Hegelian "general estate," and independence of the judiciary converged with administrative-legal-constitutional developments in Prussia begun under the absolutism of the eighteenth century and professional and personal interests of judges to bring them into parliament, often as members of the liberal opposition. But success in the liberal project of building a national state, including legal reform, professionalization, and the advent of mass politics, reduced the need and attraction for judges in parliament, resulting in a decline after the 1860s. [source] Being neurologically human today: Life and science and adult cerebral plasticity (an ethical analysis)AMERICAN ETHNOLOGIST, Issue 1 2010TOBIAS REES ABSTRACT Throughout the 20th century, scientists believed that the adult human brain is fully developed, organized in fixed and immutable function-specific neural circuits. Since the discovery of the profound plasticity of the human brain in the late 1990s, this belief has been thoroughly undermined. In this article, combining ethnographic and historical research, I develop an "ethical analysis" to show that (and in what concrete sense) the emergence of adult cerebral plasticity was a major mutation of the neurologically human,a metamorphosis of the confines within which neuroscience requires all those who live under the spell of the brain to think and live the human. [source] Landslide events on the West Coast, South Island, 1867,2002NEW ZEALAND GEOGRAPHER, Issue 1 2005J. L. Benn Abstract:, A new landslide event inventory based on a literature search has been compiled for the West Coast of New Zealand. Rainfall has been identified as the most frequent reported landslide generating mechanism by far, followed by other/unknown means, then earthquakes. Small-magnitude, high-frequency, rainfall-induced events have historically caused the most damage to property and infrastructure, with many of the region's highways and settlements being repeatedly affected by landslides. Since 1874, landslides have caused at least 36 fatalities in the region. More historical research is needed to fill chronological and geographical gaps in the record, and to complement scientific research. Such information is useful for hazard planning purposes. [source] Bringing nursing research to the public: Making media matterNURSING & HEALTH SCIENCES, Issue 1 2005Phyllis N. Stern dns, doctor of laws (hons) Through historical research we are working to elevate the image of nursing from one who takes orders, to that of ,vital participant in health care' through education, research and service. By getting this message to the public, we hope to make nursing a more respected, valued and attractive career choice for women and men. [source] The Kabbalah Centre and Contemporary SpiritualityRELIGION COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 3 2008Jody Myers This paper focuses on the Kabbalah Centre, an international new religious movement that popularizes formerly esoteric Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) and attempts to spread it to a universal audience. Like many new religious movements, its cultural and social nonalignment fosters intense opposition as well as attraction, the latter most notably from celebrity followers such as Madonna. I summarize portions of my ethnographic and historical research to illumine some basic aspects of the movement: its connection to Jewish and Christian Kabbalah, its postmodern social structure, and its appeal to both people seeking a spiritual outlook and practice seemingly unconnected to normative, organized religion. [source] The Influence of Social Critical Theory on Edward Schillebeeckx's Theology of Suffering for OthersTHE HEYTHROP JOURNAL, Issue 2 2001Elizabeth K. TillarArticle first published online: 16 DEC 200 Edward Schillebeeckx has consolidated the theoretical and practical dimensions of the Christian approach to human suffering in his theological method, specifically his theology of suffering for others. The various elements and sources of his method can be gleaned from his later writings, especially those published during the 1970s and 1980s. Schillebeeckx's theology is anchored in (1) the Thomist-phenomenological approach of Flemish philosopher Dominic De Petter; (2) the historical-experiential theology of Marie-Dominique Chenu; and (3) the social theory of the Frankfurt School. De Petter's perspective on Aquinas integrated a Thomist epistemology with the phenomenological notion that concepts cannot ultimately capture the reality of human experience. From Chenu, Schillebeeckx acquired his commitment to both solid historical research and engagement with socio-political problems facing church and world. The problem of suffering, which constitutes an essential dimension of Schillebeeckx's theological ethics with its dual emphasis on theory and praxis, raises the question of human responsibility in the face of unjust and needless suffering. His theoretical-practical approach to the alleviation of human suffering evolved within the framework of social critical theory, specifically: (a) Schillebeeckx's theological integration of Theodor Adorno's negative dialectics into his own method of correlation, which promotes various forms of critical resistance to socio-political injustice rather than a single program; and (b) the unification of theory and praxis, a priority of Jürgen Habermas's ,new' critical theory that Schillebeeckx endorses. Both principles of critical theory , negative dialectics and the union of theory and praxis , inform Schillebeeckx's eschatological orientation and his conception of liturgy as a form of social ethics. [source] Tales from the archive: methodological and ethical issues in historical geography researchAREA, Issue 3 2010Francesca P L Moore This paper is an exploration of methodological and ethical issues in historical geography research. Drawing on the experience of researching the historical geographies of abortion in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Lancashire, the paper discusses some of the ethical and methodological questions that historical research on sensitive topics raises. This paper investigates the politics of the archive and the forms of censorship researchers may encounter. It also explores the possibility of a conflict of interest between researcher and participant, including the dilemmas researchers face when research participants are dead, but remain important figures in the community. Moreover, the paper argues that the recent burgeoning interest in family and local history makes questions of method and ethics far more urgent for the geographer. In conclusion, the paper calls for more dialogue within geography about researching sensitive subjects, and also between geography and other disciplines. [source] Galilei's astronomical discoveries using the telescope and their evaluation found in a writing-calendar from 1611ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 6 2009K.-D. Herbst Abstract Yearly calendars were a mass-produced article in early modern times and had an enormous importance in everyday life. Besides a first part, the Calendarium with the monthly tables, they contain a second part, the astrological Prognosticum. At first, the two parts were sold separately. In the second half of the 17th century, the parts were designed as a unity and sold together. The calendars in quart format contain texts which are so interesting that historical research should give them more consideration. Such a text is found, e.g., in the second part of the calendar for 1611, written by Paul Nagel, astronomer and rector of the school in Torgau. Nagel informs about Galilei's discoveries with the telescope. The (Latin) text was written in August 1610. This text is presented and put into perspective in the scientific debates of the time about the telescope as a new invention with consequences to philosophy (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Optics and the nature of light illustrated in the rare book collection of the Astronomy Library in ViennaASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 6 2009I. Müller Abstract The Astronomy Library in Vienna has a significant collection of rare books, consisting of more than 500 titles dating from the end of the 15th to the 18th century. Since the collection was to be the basis of research and of teaching, the books represent a variety of scientific topics that have been of interest at that time. Thus the rare book collection of the Astronomy Library in Vienna also offers the opportunity for scientific historical research. In the following, certain aspects on the development of the telescope and of optics in general will be illustrated (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] On the Outskirts of Physics: Eva von Bahr as an Outsider Within in Early 20th Century Swedish Experimental PhysicsCENTAURUS, Issue 1 2009Staffan Wennerholm Abstract Eva von Bahr (1874,1962) got her doctorate in experimental physics at the Physics Institute at Uppsala University in 1908. Subsequently she became the first woman assistant professor in physics in Sweden. In the face of many obstacles, she worked as a physicist for six years in Uppsala and Berlin. In 1914 she took a position as a school teacher. This article explores von Bahr's trajectory through academic experimental physics. It is argued that network connections with male scientists enabled her work. Her associations were a mix between institutional relationships and informal connections, resulting in what is labeled a ,hybrid of connections'. Furthermore it is argued that von Bahr became an ,outsider within' in academic experimental physics. Her connections created openings, but these coexisted with hindrances. It is argued that von Bahr oscillated between being an insider and an outsider which created a fractured identity. Her position and identity was a mix between membership and non-membership. Through examining von Bahr's career this article aims to bring together historical research on women in science and theoretical work in science studies. Furthermore, the article argues the analytical value of feminist perspectives on scientific collaborations as a way to a deeper understanding of the network structures of science. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||