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Memory and Nation Building addresses the complex topic of collective memory, first described by sociologist Maurice Halbwachs in the first half of the 20th century. Author Michael Galaty argues that the first states appropriated traditional collective memory systems in order to form. With this in mind, he compares three Mediterranean societies – Egypt, Greece, and Albania – each of which experienced very different trajectories of state formation. Galaty attributes these differences to varying responses to collective memory in all three places through time, with climaxes in the Ottoman period, during which all three were under Ottoman control. Egypt was characterized by deeply meaningful ...
A bilingual guide to finding information on the Internet concerning environmental issues on the U.S.-Mexican border region includes an overview of the Border EcoWeb website, general instruction on Internet subject searching, and lists of related organizations.
Historical archaeology has largely focused on the study of early military sites and homes of upper class. Research on lower classes was viewed as a supplement to local histories documenting political, military and financial leaders of the 18th and 19th centuries. An Archaeological Study of Rural Capitalism and Material Life will be of interest to historical archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, social historians, and historical sociologists, especially researchers studying the influence of globalization and economic development upon rural regions like Appalachia.
Archaeology can either bolster memory and tradition, or contradict the status quo and provide an alternative view of the past. An archaeology of Harpers Ferry's wartime and Victorian eras confronts time-honored historical interpretations of the past (created and perpetuated by such interest groups as historians and the National Park Service) and in so doing allows us to be more inclusive of the town's forgotten histories and provides alternative voices to a past.
The last decade has witnessed increased interest in establishing partnerships between professional practitioners in public interpretation and educational institutions to excavate and preserve the past. These developments have occurred amidst a realization that community-based partnerships are the most effective mechanism for long-term success. With international contributions, this volume addresses these latest trends and provides case studies of successful partnerships.
What are the political usesÑand misusesÑof archaeology in the Middle East? In answering this question, the contributors to this volume lend their regional expertise to a variety of case studies, including the TalibanÕs destruction of Buddhas in Afghanistan, the commercialization of archaeology in Israel, the training of Egyptian archaeology inspectors, and the debate over Turkish identity sparked by the film Troy, among other provocative subjects. Other chapters question the ethical justifications of archaeology in places that have Òalternative engagements with the material past.Ó In the process, they form various views of the role of the archaeologist, from steward of the historical re...
Territorial borders, identity borders, and many other kinds of social and cultural borders are constantly questioned in Israel-Palestine. Reapproaching Borders: New Perspectives on the Study of Israel-Palestine explores the concept of borders, how they are imagined and actualized in this deeply contested land. The book focuses on the 'implicate relations' between Palestinian Arabs and Jews, providing new insights into the origins and dynamics of the conflicts between them. Emphasizing the history of the non-elite members of both communities, the book sees the relations between Jews and Palestinian Arabs as embedded and reflected in areas of daily living, such as in the spheres of architecture, commerce, health sexuality, and the courts. Using the voices of the new generation of scholars, Reapproaching Borders demonstrates the continued saliency of older themes such as ownership and rights to the land, but as they intersect with the newer areas of inquiry, such as sexual identity politics and spatial relations.
The Archaeology of Capitalism in Colonial Contexts: Postcolonial Historical Archaeologies explores the complex interplay of colonial and capital formations throughout the modern world. The authors present a critical approach to this topic, trying to shift discourses in the theoretical framework of historical archaeology of capitalism and colonialism through the use of postcolonial theory. This work does not suggest a new theoretical framework as such, but rather suggests the importance of revising key theoretical terms employed within historical archaeology, arguing for new engagements with postcolonial theory of relevance to all historical archaeologists as the field de-centers from its tra...
In one of the first ever environmental histories of the Ottoman Empire, Alan Mikhail examines relations between the empire and its most lucrative province of Egypt. Based on both the local records of various towns and villages in rural Egypt and the imperial orders of the Ottoman state, this book charts how changes in the control of natural resources fundamentally altered the nature of Ottoman imperial sovereignty in Egypt and throughout the empire. In revealing how Egyptian peasants were able to use their knowledge and experience of local environments to force the hand of the imperial state, Nature and Empire in Ottoman Egypt tells a story of the connections of empire stretching from canals in the Egyptian countryside to the palace in Istanbul, from the forests of Anatolia to the shores of the Red Sea, and from a plague flea's bite to the fortunes of one of the most powerful states of the early modern world.
Employing the considerable archaeological and historical skills in her armory, Susan Piddock tries to lift the lid on the lunatic asylums of years gone by. Films and television programs have portrayed them as places of horror where the patients are restrained and left to listen to the cries of their fellow inmates in despair. But what was the world of nineteenth century lunatic asylums really like? Are these images true, or are we laboring under a misunderstanding?