Cultural History

Writing and reading American football: culture, identity and sports studies.

by John Nauright

Published in Sporting Traditions, 13:1 (1996), 109-127.

The end of sports history?: from sports history to sports studies.

by John Nauright

Published in Sporting Traditions, 16:1 (1999), 5-13. Issue devoted to "The End of Sports History?" posed at the ASSH Conference held at the University of Otago in 1999.

The 1999 conference of the Australian Society for Sports History (ASSH)
sparked interesting and lively debate... more The 1999 conference of the Australian Society for Sports History (ASSH)
sparked interesting and lively debate before, during and after the
proceedings. Some ASSH members appeared uneasy discussing the ‘end’
of their field which, as an academic enterprise, is younger than most of
the participants. Yet, beyond the obvious reference to Francis Fukiyama’s
‘The End of History’, the topic is certainly relevant for a number of
reasons. Sports historians have not extensively debated the impact of the
postmodern assault on ‘History’ as either a tool of modernist discourse
and discursive power relationships,2 or a set of practices that follow what
Appleby, Hunt and Jacob call ‘the heroic model of science’.3 Many
postmodern critics have called for, or announced, the ‘end of history’. If
history is at an end, then surely the implication would be that there is also
an end to sports history as we know it.

For those who have been following the ‘mainstream’ historical
literature over the past decade or so, it is readily apparent that the
challenges of postmodernism and poststructuralism have been debated
extensively amongst historians, and between historians and critics of
‘(H)history’ who do not classify themselves as ‘historians’ (and who
‘historians’ reject as members of the historical profession). These debates
are perhaps best summarised in The Postmodern History Reader edited by
Keith Jenkins.4 Brian Palmer’s Descent into Discourse, published in 1990,
offers the best sustained critique from the left of the postmodernist attack
on history.5 For some, the end of history is to be welcomed; for others the
‘descent into discourse’ is problematic and serves only to obfuscate the
continuation of society and global capitalist development.

Reflections on Social Engineering and Settler-American Literature

by Jeffrey Herlihy-Mera

The publication and dissemination of literature (and, tangentially, the study of literature) within boundaries of a... more The publication and dissemination of literature (and, tangentially, the study of literature) within boundaries of a national identity invariably focuses public attention on the opinions of a small number of authors, publishers, reviewers, and critics. These sociocultural projections of a uniform (and for that reason illusory) United States national identity, national literature, and associated parallels of cultural collectivity—for a populace of over 300 million—is a circumstance that deserves focus: what makes a piece of writing “American?” What characteristics, themes, and structures define the canonical texts? Moreover, as many literary expressions do not fit a prescribed national mold, further polemic arises when we analyze the forces that minoritize “other” literatures. The axis of these uncertainties relates to who conceives and controls the metaphoric maps that define the group-identity. To engage this topic, this inquiry examines the multilateral influences on the formation of collective identity through attention to governmental social engineering; the aim here is first to characterize the structures that place a contrived primordialism in the image of the settler-American, and second, to explore the attendant literary and cultural expressions of this phenomenon.

Chambri endgame: history and anthropology in New Guinea

by Rena Lederman

Brescia, Venezia, Leida: i Chronica di Elia Capriolo nella Respublica literaria dell’Europa moderna, “Italia medioevale e umanistica”, 49 (2008), pp. 287-329

by Simone Signaroli

The humanist and politician Elia Capriolo (d. 1512-1517) published in 1505 a series of Chronica de rebus Brixianorum,... more The humanist and politician Elia Capriolo (d. 1512-1517) published in 1505 a series of Chronica de rebus Brixianorum, a history of his birthplace Brescia from its origins down to his own time. He later wrote a supplement in two books, first published as late as 1723 by the Dutch scholar Pieter Burman (Leiden, Thesaurus antiquitatum et historiarum Italiae, to. IX pars VII). This article puts Capriolo's biography on a new footing, enriched by new archival documents, and describes the ms tradition of the last two books of the Chronica, in which scholars and statesmen of the early 17th century such as Gerardus Joannes Vossius, Domenico Molino and Ottavio Rossi were directly involved.

Memorie di storia municipale all’inizio del Seicento: primi appunti archivistici dal comune di Brescia, “Aevum”, 83 (2009), pp. 851-858

by Simone Signaroli

Some documents from the historical archive of the commune of Brescia attest that, in the early seventeenth century,... more Some documents from the historical archive of the commune of Brescia attest that, in the early seventeenth century, the municipality of that town was institutionally preserving both epigraphical and manuscript evidences of its own history. In 1605, the text of a classic inscription was registered in one of the communal administrative books. Then, in 1607, a manuscript of Iacopo Malvezzi’s Chronicon, written by Tommaso Mercanda in 1545, was acquired by the commune. This book still lies in the city historical archive (Brescia, Archivio di Stato, Archivio Storico Civico 1463). On the same occasion another manuscript was bought too: a copy of Cristoforo Soldo’s vernacular chronicle, indentifiable as the manuscript now Brescia, Biblioteca Queriniana, K VI 23, copied by the same Tommaso Mercanda.

L’edizione veneta di Albertino Mussato (1636) e l’erudizione europea di primo Seicento, “Italia medioevale e umanistica”, 50 (2009), pp. 313-341

by Simone Signaroli

The Venetian edition of Albertino Mussato and the chroniclers of the March o Treviso (1636) invites investigation of... more The Venetian edition of Albertino Mussato and the chroniclers of the March o Treviso (1636) invites investigation of the approach to medieval a humanistic Latin texts adopted by two of the leading scholars of the early 17th century, Felice Osio and Lorenzo Pignoria, principal editors of the volume. Their work, which had historical and political implications, is seen as part of a wider tradition of studies of local Paduan antiquities and of an international scholarly network which created contacts between statesmen, historians and philologists in the Republic of Venice, Holland, France and Enlgand.

Cancellarius e cancellus. Contributo al lessico e ai luoghi della cancelleria fra Quattro e Cinquecento: tradizione erudita e testimonianze archivistiche dal comune di Brescia, “Bullettino dell’ISIME”, 112 (2010), pp. 297-304

by Simone Signaroli

Some documents, selected from the Provvisioni of the fifteenth-century municipality of Brescia, give us cause to... more Some documents, selected from the Provvisioni of the fifteenth-century municipality of Brescia, give us cause to discuss the survival of such a latin chancery term as cancellus. Furthermore, this material allow us to identify the buildings and the rooms where the municipality itself preserved its public archives.

Brescia 1628: un caso di erudizione politica, “Aevum”, 84 (2010), pp. 761-765

by Simone Signaroli

In 1628 the podestà of Brescia, the Venetian patrician Domenico Ruzzini, asked the town-council for permission to... more In 1628 the podestà of Brescia, the Venetian patrician Domenico Ruzzini, asked the town-council for permission to study the Liber potheris, a thirteenth-century cartulary collecting the oldest documents of the municipality. Ruzzini looked for a medieval treaty between the emperor Frederic II and the communes of the second Lombard League (1232), which is copied in the Liber potheris. Ruzzini’s aim was both historical scholarship and political interest: the knowledge of the traditional rights, possessions and privilege of the city clergy and institutions was important for his government.

Il mito di Ercole fondatore nella tradizione erudita bresciana

by Simone Signaroli

in Ercole il fondatore. Dall'antichità al Rinascimento, catalogo della mostra (Brescia, S. Giulia Museo della città, febbraio-giugno 2011), a cura di M. Bona Castellotti e A. Giuliano, Milano, Electa, 2011, pp. 128-137

Ottavio Rossi appointed antiquary to the Commune of Brescia

by Simone Signaroli

Documents for a cultural biography of Ottavio Rossi (1578-1630) antiquary, I, Ottavio Rossi appointed antiquary to the Commune of Brescia, © 2012

The paper presents some documents that attest Rossi’s appointment to the Commune of Brescia as municipal antiquary... more The paper presents some documents that attest Rossi’s appointment to the Commune of Brescia as municipal antiquary (1610-1623).

The End of Boom and Bust?

by Patrick Longson

posted on www.patricklongson.blogspot.com

Blog post discussing the views of our current economic tribulations and their historical heritage. Blog post discussing the views of our current economic tribulations and their historical heritage.

The German Community in Manchester, Middle-Class Culture and the Development of Mountaineering in Britain, c. 1850–1914

by Jonathan Westaway

Originally published as Westaway, J. (2009) The German Community in Manchester, Middle-Class Culture and the Development of Mountaineering in Britain, c. 1850-1914. The English Historical Review, CXXIV (508). pp. 571-604.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ehr/cep144

The German community in Manchester formed the most significant international element in the Manchester bourgeoisie... more The German community in Manchester formed the most significant international element in the Manchester bourgeoisie c.1850-1914 and contributed significantly to the city's commercial and cultural life. This study examines German models of voluntary association that linked sport and recreation, education and culture in the context of the Germanophile cultural and intellectual life of the city. Nonconformist élites within Manchester shared liberal and reformist ideals with German émigré groups, not least in the area of education. The German-Unitarian contribution to the kindergarten system, progressive education and the gymnastics movement is examined in some detail. With their emphasis on the whole child, physical education, physical culture and the balance to be achieved between mind and body, these pedagogic innovations were to have a significant influence on the nascent outdoor movement in the region. A number of important implications for the historiography of mountaineering are drawn out. The presence of a gymnastic tradition in the city is relevant to the debates on the emergence of rock climbing as a sport distinct from mountaineering in the 1880s and 1890s. Historians of British mountaineering have tended to characterize the sport as dominated by the world view of the gentlemanly upper-middle class, shot through with the chivalric codes of manliness, athleticism and the exploratory impulse and intent on satisfying nationalistic and imperial preoccupations. This paper argues that, in the context of a regional middle-class sporting and recreational culture, cosmopolitan intellectual and cultural links were just as significant as the dominant national discourse. It opens up the possibility of understanding mountaineering as not just part of an imperial discourse of conquest but also one rooted in the Enlightenment tradition of inner exploration and intellectual bildung.

Deconstructing the Gentleman Amateur

by Duncan Stone

The concept of the gentleman amateur was, and remains, an important aspect of upper and middle-class Victorian and... more The concept of the gentleman amateur was, and remains, an important aspect of upper and middle-class Victorian and Edwardian male identity, and so closely linked were these titles, that a latter day commentator stated: “The old theory of an amateur was that he was a gentleman and the two were simply convertible terms”. But what were the philosophical origins of these titles and what did each half of this construct represent and mean in practise?

Regional Cricket Identities: The Construction of Class Narratives and Their Relationship to Contemporary Supporters.

by Duncan Stone

http://historyspot.org.uk/podcasts/sport-and-leisure-history-seminars/regional-cricket-identities-construction-class

Cricket in the North and South of England, has historically been attributed or imagined in diametrically opposite and... more Cricket in the North and South of England, has historically been attributed or imagined in diametrically opposite and stereotyped terms Namely a competitive professional North and a genteel amateur South. This paper will examine the invention of these regionalised narratives, identify sources, and question the extent to which these opposing identities exist.

Politische Soziologie technischer Prüfungen. Das Beispiel Straßenverkehrssicherheit <2012>

by Joerg Potthast

discussion paper

Draws on two conceptual streams (sociology of critique; sociology of science and technology) to develop a subpolitical... more Draws on two conceptual streams (sociology of critique; sociology of science and technology) to develop a subpolitical understand of "testing"; accounts for the history of car safety between late 1960s and 2006.

Establishment of Tradition by Criticism of Tradition: the case of the Surakarta Style of Javanese Dance

by Michi Tomioka

in Japanese

Urban Research.VOl.12. pp. 50-64.
published in March 2010 by Osaka City University Urban Culture Research Center, Osaka: Japan

　Ramayana Ballet, a dance theater for tourists, was started in 1961 at Prambanan
Temple and has become an... more 　Ramayana Ballet, a dance theater for tourists, was started in 1961 at Prambanan
Temple and has become an Indonesian representative theater. It was choreographed
by R.T.Kusumokesowo, a dance master of the Surakarta Court. However his choreography
was criticized by Gendhon Humardani at the Seminar on National Dance
Theater of Ramayana 1970. It was the beginning of dance criticism in Indonesia, and
Humardani has had an important role in developing Javanese dance since then.
Humardani made severe comments on Kusumokesowo's choreography, especially on
the following 3 points: 1. dance forms representative and external; 2. pendhopo
(Javanese traditional hall) - oriented sense of space; and 3. art direction attaching too
much emphasis to the story. All of these show Humardani appreciated the Western
modern performing arts. It is true Ramayana Ballet produced a new genre named sendratari
(a dance theater) as well as many new character forms, but it still maintained a
conservative sense derived from the Javanese court dance. From the criticism of
Humardani, “the (out‒of‒date) Javanese tradition” has emerged behind “the (up-todate)
Western modernity.”
Humardani got the Western modern-oriented viewpoint from his study abroad in the
U.K and the U.S.A from 1959 to 1961. His viewpoint of the Ramayana Ballet criticism was
already obtained in 1961 when he wrote a criticism on a ballet performance in London.
　Humardani innovated dance both in the PKJT (Central Java Art Center) project and
the ASKI (Indonesian Art Academy), to realize his dance theory. Humardani played an
important role to bring a modern perspective into Javanese dance.
Keywords : tradition, Javanese dance, modern, Ramayana Ballet, Humardani

Revaluing Javanese Court Dances (Srimpi and Bedhaya) within the Current Social and Cultural Context

by Michi Tomioka

"The Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows"  pp. 53-60.
The Nippon Foundation

“Screening Faith: Catholics on TV”

by John Andreas Fuchs

In: Hermann Josef Schnackertz / Saskia Hertlein (eds.), The Culture of Catholicism in the United States, Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter 2012, pp. 213-236. (revised and abbreviated version of: John Andreas Fuchs: “Showing Faith: Catholicism in American TV Series”, Moravian Journal of Literature and Film 2 no.1 (Fall 2010), pp. 79-98.)

According to Colleen McDannell, Catholicism stands above all other religions for the film and TV audience because it... more According to Colleen McDannell, Catholicism stands above all other religions for the film and TV audience because it seems to be the most mystical and the most easily recognizable of all religious creeds; however, it is also the most criticized and suspicious denomination. Since Catholics star on the big screen, as well as on the flat screen in American homes, it is useful to have a close look at the different depictions of Catholicism and their criticism by institutions. Using examples from movies such as Million Dollar Baby and Gran Torino as well as TV series such as Ally McBeal, Bones, The West Wing and The Simpsons, this article discusses the fascination with Catholicism on the screen and argues that even depictions seen as negative by the Catholic League do not necessarily harm Catholicism.

"Nunca tantos leram tão pouco": editores de livro unidos contra a temida modernidade em meados do século XX

by Gabriel Labanca

XXVI Simpósio Nacional de História ANPUH, 2011, São Paulo. Anais do XXVI simpósio nacional da ANPUH - Associação Nacional de História. São Paulo : ANPUH-SP, 2011. v. 1. p. 1-15

As transformações sócio-econômicas, políticas e culturais ocorridas no Brasil a partir de 1930 incentivaram também a... more As transformações sócio-econômicas, políticas e culturais ocorridas no Brasil a partir de 1930 incentivaram também a expansão da produção e venda de livros. No entanto, como o público consumidor e leitor ainda não era satisfatório para um número maior de editoras, e o país ainda conservava problemas históricos nessa área (má distribuição, parque gráfico insuficiente, analfabestimo, etc.), grande parte das novas empresas fundadas na época foram à falência. Aos editores mais consolidados, restava lutar contra antigos e novos obstáculos, como a entrada de modernos hábitos de consumo cultural na sociedade brasileira, para manterem seus negócios abertos. Nesse contexto, buscamos entender como o temor pela entrada de novas mídias no mercado brasileiro incentivou a consolidação de uma classe editorial no país, assim como a sua adequação às novas leis do mercado e as suas ações de protesto contra a entrada de impressos estrangeiros e os subsídios governamentais a jornais e revistas, como estratégias de sobrevivência da atividade livreira.