Suchergebnisse

Since its inception in the colonial era, Area Studies (AS) has evolved in accordance with policy-oriented demands. From the study of former colonial territories to strategic areas of the Cold War, and from September 11, 2001 through to the present day, this academic field has been entangled with government, with an impetus aimed at achieving policy goals. Using the seminal book Middle East Studies after September 11: Neo-Orientalism, American Hegemony and Academia as its basis, we present here a critical examination of historical context of the evolution of Area Studies and the current trends in the field. Some of the notable current trends in the field include observable rotations in area focus that over the last decade have manifested in a geospatial shift of focus to East Asia by US-centric academia, and the adoption of AS as a model outside of the United States and Europe. Regarding the latter, this brief study investigates the adaptation of an AS model by China, noting the transference of the practical negative attributes of AS, and critically engages in the AS dialectic by asking the question of whether the colonial, imperialist and Orientalist history and attributes of AS are inherent to the field when adopted by actors from outside its traditional milieu.

AbstractThe intention of this paper is to fill a gap in a rich yet underrepresented aspect of Indian Ocean slave history. I have elected to found this study on a close reading of a journal from a slave-trading vessel that sought slaves for the Cape in Madagascar in the mid-1770s. This vessel, De Zon, conducted a slave-trading operation on behalf of the VOC along the west coast of Madagascar from May 1775 to January 1776. I have undertaken a close reading of the journal maintained by the merchant of De Zon, so as to write a history sensitive to the daily experiences of the slave traders in Madagascar, as well as to the codes and discourse through which this experience was filtered.This paper is primarily concerned with the experience of negotiation and trading as it was recorded by the VOC merchants on the vessels, and is drawn predominantly from the first trading encounter of the crew of De Zon when they arrived in Madagascar in 1775. In contrast to the surveys that comprise the majority of the English-language scholarship on slave trading in Madagascar, this paper is founded on a close reading of particular episodes; it thus represents an attempt at a micronarrative that illustrates and details the historical experience of VOC slave trading on the island at a particular juncture.

During the 1930s, the small-scale retailer was regarded by many commentators as being responsible for the apparent inefficiencies of the retail trade in Britain. Using a range of documentary evidence from the period, this article draws attention to debate on the merits of large- and small-scale retailers, highlighting a concern for the latter's contribution to wider community well-being and to developments in retail trade practices. The relative inefficiency of the small trader was frequently explained in relation to a lack of awareness of sound shop management. Consequently, emphasis was placed by commentators on the need for small traders to enhance their knowledge of retail management practices in order to improve their own competitive position and efficiency in the retail trade more widely. Both the popular and trade press offered small traders a range of advice that was intended to improve their fortunes. This article considers the form and content of such advice.

Queues are part of everyday routine and experienced by most shoppers, yet little attention has been given to providing historical accounts of queuing as a consumer task or as a shopper experience. This paper examines grocery shop queues and the changing experience of shoppers in historical perspective, specifically focusing upon the shift from counter-service to self-service grocery formats in Britain from 1945 to 1975. The paper draws upon a wide range of material using evidence from oral histories and witness groups, which is supported by contemporary sources from the Mass Observation Archive, newspapers, shopper surveys, and trade publications and reports. The conceptual framework developed in the paper explores the public and private dimensions of queues to consider the experiences and perceptions of shoppers during a period of rapid change in the retail grocery system. More generally, the paper contributes to our understanding of how management innovations are connected to untraded public values.