Break the rules,save the records: human rights archives and the search for justice in East Timor

How do distinctive historical experiences and political regimes shape human rights archives? How do those archives and those experiences in turn influence the way painful pasts are remembered or forgotten? And what can historical accounts tell us about the wisdom of prevailing norms and practices regarding the management and control of human rights records? This paper explores these questions through a close analysis of the history and politics of the principal archive documenting human rights abuse in East Timor. It underscores the work of archival studies scholars who argue that human rights archives are always in some degree shaped by the historical and political context in which they emerge and that conflicts over matters of content, mandate, and rules of access are virtually inevitable. Noting that such conflicts typically pit political authorities against victims and their advocates, it argues that successful human rights archival programs hinge critically on sensitive historical and political analysis and that, under certain conditions, human rights archivists should play a more active role in facilitating the pursuit of justice for victims of human rights abuse. It also makes the case for a move away from large, state-controlled archives toward multiple, smaller archives with varied mandates. Finally, it proposes the adoption of a new hierarchy of interest in the management of archives; away from the long-accepted principles of national sovereignty and inalienability, and in the direction of access to the survivors of human rights violations and their advocates.     

Sarah Roberts and the early history of the “separate but equal” doctrine: A study in rhetoric,law, and social change

This essay explores the early history of the “separate but equal”; doctrine in nineteenth century legal and political argumentation. By employing ironic and tragic frames, the authors challenge the traditional, linear approaches to legal historirizing. Moving beyond legal texts, the authors investigate how various communities in antebellum Boston negotiated conflicting views about how to best advance the cause of civil rights, both inside and outside the courtroom. These early debates created a complex rhetorical culture, and they provided jurists with several possible interpretations of the terms “separate”; and “equal.”; The authors conclude that these early debates, and Lemuel Shaw's subsequent decision in Sarah C. Roberts v. The City of Boston (1849), provide readers with insightful illustrations of the irony and tragedy of the law.     

Mutatis Mutandis: Writing (After Derrida [After McLuhan {After Joyce}])

This essay plays Jacques Derrida and Marshall McLuhan off of one another and allows each to rub up against the other's voice. It will be argued that these works (which are rarely, if ever, read in conjunction) elicit underlying themes of each other, including similarities found in both their subjects and their reception. A connection via James Joyce will be discussed as well. The “writing” of non-books by Derrida and McLuhan, it will be argued, deconstructs communication form in a manner similar to Joyce, highlighting and applying to Derrida and McLuhan what Samuel Beckett once said of Joyce: “His writing is not about something; it is that something itself.”     

In/discernible bodies: the politics of passing in dominant and marginal media

This essay explores news media coverage of two types of alleged “passing”: passing across racial lines from Black to White and across sex lines from female to male. Textual analysis of dominant print media and print media discourses produced by and/or addressed to Blacks and queers reveals prominent frames through which news consumers are invited to perceive these events. In particular, the analysis demonstrates that both dominant and marginal social groups express the desire to fix the identities of passers in a single, discrete category, although these groups wish to do so for disparate reasons. In addition, marginal groups frame passing events within broad cultural and historical contexts in contrast to the narrow contexts framed by dominant media. Comparison of race and sex passing exposes the similarities–including community consternation about the passer–and differences–including disparate focus on civil rights rather than identity issues–between Black and queer coverage of these events. Comparison of race and sex passing also exposes the way in which dominant media correlate race passing with class passing, while sex passing is correlated to sexuality passing (that is, queer passing for heterosexual).     

Measuring perceived competence and social acceptance in children with cerebral palsy

The Dutch Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Children with Cerebral Palsy was translated and administered to an English sample. This scale was developed to assess the child's perception on cognitive, physical and social domains. Thirty-two children, aged 4 to 9 years, were tested twice. The results indicate good test/retest reliability and good internal consistency. The results on the intercorrelations between the four sub-scales supported internal validity of the pictorial scale. It is concluded that the pictorial scale for young children with cerebral palsy is a reliable and valid instrument for determining the perception of children with cerebral palsy, and application in clinical and class settings is discussed.