The Ongoing Struggle for Memory and Democracy in Post-War Guatemala

ABSTRACT

This article explores the link between processes of democratic subjectification and truth commissions. Looking at the two truth commission projects that operated in Guatemala in the 1990s, it argues that these commissions can and have been used as important spaces for the articulation of political identity and thus for making demands upon the future democratic society for the communities involved.     

A Tale of Two Funerals: Civic Ritual,Public Mourning and Community Participation in Late Nineteenth-Century Middlesbrough

In the late nineteenth century, British funerals became increasingly rational as they began to strip away the excesses of Victorian custom. Yet imposing public funerals for well-known figures continued to take place. Historians have previously underestimated the entertainment value which a public funeral could offer. As this article demonstrates, attendance at such funerals could only be guaranteed if the occasion held particular emotional resonance, personal appeal or came with a degree of novelty. Focusing on Middlesbrough in 1889, the circumstances surrounding two particular funerals are considered in order to understand both local shifts in values and priorities concerning death ritual, as an indicator of a broader national trend.     

Strategic Narratives in US Public Diplomacy: A Critical Geopolitics

The United States has historically held a unique, complex, and dynamic relationship to international geopolitical space. From the Monroe Doctrine to Cold War demarcations such as containment and détente, the United States has sought to define its geopolitical position in relation to other nations through narratives which have served as popular reference points for interpreting shifts in international power relations. Why, then, is it unable to produce a compelling story of geopolitical space for the 21st century? This article examines historical examples of geopolitical discourse used by the United States in promoting its foreign policies in order to explore the question of why post-9/11 narratives have failed to successfully build upon narratives of popular struggle against the Soviet Union. There are, however, historical examples which suggest possible directions for rejuvenation.     

秦家骢回国寻根记

一 江南名城无锡郊外的惠山上，宋代著名词人、文学家秦观的墓园早就修葺一新，松竹环绕、花草点缀，成为太湖畔惠山风景区一处人文景点。秦观墓曾长期湮没无闻，它被发现是在24年前。1982年深秋的一天下午，著名的美籍华裔记者秦家骢和他的姐姐秦家英在惠山山麓丛林中几经周折，终于找到他们的远祖秦观的墓．[第一段]     

九堡旧梦

在江西瑞金的九堡，铜钵山下，坝溪河畔，绵延十数里，数个古老的村落如散珠碎玉般洒落在翡翠般葱郁的南赣大地，宋石明瓦清砖构筑了这些村落的基本色调。