Inventing Laziness

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melis Hafez

Neither laziness nor its condemnation are new inventions, however, perceiving laziness as a social condition that afflicts a 'nation' is. In the early modern era, Ottoman political treatises did not regard the people as the source of the state's problems. Yet in the nineteenth century, as the imperial ideology of Ottomanism and modern discourses of citizenship spread, so did the understanding of laziness as a social disease that the 'Ottoman nation' needed to eradicate. Asking what we can learn about Ottoman history over the long nineteenth-century by looking closely into the contested and shifting boundaries of the laziness - productivity binary, Melis Hafez explores how 'laziness' can be used to understand emerging civic culture and its exclusionary practices in the Ottoman Empire. A polyphonic involvement of moralists, intellectuals, polemicists, novelists, bureaucrats, and, to an extent, the public reveals the complexities and ambiguities of this multifaceted cultural transformation. Using a wide variety of sources, this book explores the sustained anxiety about productivity that generated numerous reforms as well as new understandings of morality, subjectivity, citizenship, and nationhood among the Ottomans.

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 581-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Jaffe

With relatively few exceptions, personal petitions from individuals have received much less attention from historians than those from groups in the public political sphere. In one sense, personal petitions adopted many of the same rhetorical strategies as those delivered by a group. However, they also offer unique insights into the quotidian relationship between the people and their rulers. This article examines surviving personal petitions to various administrators at different levels of government in western India during the decades surrounding the East India Company’s conquests. The analysis of these petitions helps to refine our understanding of the place of the new judicial system in the social world of early-nineteenth-century India, especially by illuminating the discourse of justice that petitioners brought to the presentation of their cases to their new governors. The conclusion of this article seeks to place the rhetoric of personal petitioning within the larger context of mass political petitioning in India during the early nineteenth century.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 23-33
Author(s):  
Natalya S. Gurianova

The article studies the religiosity of Russian population in the 17th century in order to find out the type of this state of public mind. Special attention is drawn to the acuteness of eschatological expectations in society, which intensified during periods of crises. After the Time of Troubles (Smuta), the Church, trying to bring society out of the spiritual crisis, had been exploiting the “end of the world” topic through publishing relevant texts. This trend was especially noticeable during the time of Patriarch Joseph. The decision of the Moscow Printing House (Pechatnyi Dvor) to extend the amount of eschatological publications was determined not only by the direction of church policy, but also by the request in society, the desire of the population to get a more complete picture of the Christian teaching about the ultimate destinies of the world and man, since the spiritual crisis had presupposed an increase of apocalyptic moods. This desire indicates that the population was characterized by the religiosity of the medieval type. The article scrutinizes in particular the 2nd half of the 17th century, which modern researchers rightly designate as the early Modern era. In a society with such a keen perception of the time, the church reform, initiated in the middle of the century by Patriarch Nikon, was naturally not supported by a part of the population. In the interpretation of the defenders of the Old Belief, the actions of the reformers turned into clear signs of the advent of the kingdom of Antichrist, as it was prophesied in Christian teaching. It was not some peculiarity of the worldview of the opponents of church reform, their behavior adjusted the religiosity of the epoch. To justify these thoughts the position of Patriarch Nikon could be mentioned. Nikon found himself in a situation of disapproval and, arguing to be wrongfully convicted and misunderstood, he also used the eschatological doctrine. Based on the analysis of such facts, the article concludes that the 2nd half of the 17th century was characterized by religiosity of the medieval type.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-82
Author(s):  
Otong Surasman

In this modern era, even though advances in technology are increasingly advanced and communication tools are increasingly sophisticated, there is something missing that is forgotten by most humans. In fact, what is even more sad is the loss of specialties in performing prayer services, which are carried out by Muslims today. As the barometer is so very simple, the majority of Muslims today Al-Qur'an illiteracy reaches 65% more and both Muslims are still under ignorance and poverty, which shows that Muslims are not united in solving the problems of the people. Each of them prioritizes their personal and group interests, compared to resolving common interests. One very important effort to build a people, in order to achieve success in performing prayer services, is able to build the people's economy in eradicating poverty and ignorance, then start building relationships with Allah SWT above Zawiyah. This is a means of control which at the same time begs for guidance to Allah SWT, so that every problem faced by Muslims and the public is given a solution to the solution.                        


2020 ◽  
pp. 201-206
Author(s):  
Lucy Atkinson ◽  
Andrew Blick ◽  
Matt Qvortrup

The referendum came onto the agenda in the UK in the final quarter of the nineteenth century, and it has never entirely disappeared from it, either as a proposition or a working device. Use of the referendum in the UK was conceived of and presented both as a natural extension of the principle of democracy that was then taking hold, and as a means of offsetting perceived defects with the representative variant of popular government that had developed. In particular, it was seen as a safeguard against the manipulative impact of parties that might lead the parliamentary system to serve the ends of factions within the elite above the people. It might enable the public to vote for a particular party with which they were broadly sympathetic without needing to endorse their entire programme; and would mean that a government could not implement measures of major significance to which a majority objected. It was largely envisaged as likely to have a conservative impact, creating a new and final means by which change might be blocked. Yet its appeal spread across the political spectrum; as did opposition to it....


Slavic Review ◽  
1972 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don Karl Rowney

One of those organs of tsarist government that apparently broadened its responsibilities and competencies during the nineteenth century was the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD). At the turn of the century the Ministry's authority extended over political and civil police, local agrarian affairs, licensing of physicians and veterinarians, gathering of statistical data for the empire (including censuses), postal and telegraphic services, press licensing and censorship, civil engineering, as well as other, equally diverse, areas. The publicly announced rationale for this vast range of competencies was that these functions all were directly related to the public welfare. As a government document written for Western consumption in the 1890s put it, the Ministry was “allotted the very extensive task of caring for the universal welfare of the people, the peace, quiet, and good order of the whole Empire.”


2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Devereaux

The most celebrated and influential history of execution in England, V.A.C. Gatrell’s The Hanging Tree (Oxford, 1994), uses a survey of execution rates to make two very striking and seemingly persuasive assertions. First, more people were being hanged in early nineteenth-century England than at any time since the early modern era; and second, that the end of capital punishment came far more suddenly than previous studies have recognized. This article acknowledges and extends the importance of Gatrell’s first insight, while arguing that he nevertheless both understates the complexity of developments and overstates the suddenness with which both the letter and the practice of capital punishment were abandoned. It does so through a careful recalculation and analysis of execution rates at London’s Old Bailey courthouse, where execution was practiced on a far larger scale than in any other jurisdiction in the Anglo-American world, and whose practice most profoundly shaped the perceptions of both critics and proponents of capital punishment alike.


Author(s):  
Laurie M Wood

An examination of France’s Atlantic and Indian Ocean empires through the stories of the little known people who built it. This book is a groundbreaking evaluation of the interwoven trajectories of the people, such as itinerant ship-workers and colonial magistrates, who built France’s first empire between 1680 and 1780 in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. These imperial subjects sought new political and legal influence via law courts, with strategies that reflected local and regional priorities, particularly regarding slavery, war, and trade. Laurie M. Wood focuses largely on appellate courts in Martinique and Île de France (now Mauritius) and shows how the courts appealed to French citizens owing to their strategic place at the center of the largest and most dynamic oceanic zones of trade during the early modern era. Through court records and legal documents, she reveals how the courts became liaisons between France and its new colonial possessions, and how subjects used the courtrooms as gateways to other courtrooms in the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, and in France.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-72
Author(s):  
Lopiana Margaretha Panjaitan ◽  
Dadang Sundawa

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memahami pelestarian nilai-nilai civic culture dalam memperkuat identitas budaya masyarakat Batak Toba melalui makna simbolik ulos dalam pelaksanaan upacara perkawinan. Fokus penelitian ini adalah upaya yang dilakukan oleh masyarakat dalam melestarikan nilai-nilai civic culture, dan mengapa masyarakat Batak Toba perlu untuk melestarikan nilai-nilai civic culture tersebut. Desain penelitian yang digunakan adalah kualitatif dengan metode studi kasus. Teknik pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan wawancara, observasi, dokumentasi, dan partisipasi langsung. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa: (1) ulos tidak bisa lepas dari kehidupann orang Batak Toba karena merupakan warisan nenek moyang sejak dahulu kala, ulos juga sebagai simbol kasih sayang di antara keluarga, yaitu antara orang tua dan anak, dan juga antar sesama anggota masyarakat; (2) upaya yang dilakukan oleh masyarakat dan pemerintah dalam melestarikan nilai-nilai civic culture tersebut adalah dengan cara memberikan pemahaman dan penjelasan kepada generasi muda dan membangun sebuah cagar budaya; (3) alasan mengapa masyarakat Batak Toba perlu melestarikan nilai-nilai civic culture tersebut adalah agar warisan nenek moyang tetap terjaga karena di dalam makna simbolik ulos tersebut terdapat nilai-nilai luhur Pancasila, seperti nilai ketuhanan, kemanusiaan, persatuan, kerakyatan, dan keadilan.  Preservation of The Value of Civic Culture in Strengthening The Cultural Identity of The Community: Case Study on The Symbolic Meaning of Marriage of Ulos in The Implementation of Batak Toba Society in Sitorang). This reseach aims to understand the preservation the value of civic culture in strengthening the cultural identity of Batak Toba society through the symbolic meaning of ulos in the implementation of the marriage. This research focuses to have the efforts made by the community in preserving the value of civic culture, and to find out why the people of Batak Toba need to preserve the value of the civic culture. The study uses a qualitative case study method. The techniques of data collection are done through interviews, observation, documentation, and direct participation. The reseach results show that: (1) Ulos is not separated from the life of Batak Toba, because it is a heritage since a very long time ago, ulos is also as a symbol of affection among family,between parents and children, as well as among members of society; (2) The effort made by the public and the government in prevising the value of the civic culture is to provide an understanding and explanation to the younger generation and build a cultural heritage; (3) Reasons why people of Batak Toba need to preserve the value of the civic culture is that the heritage is maintained, because the noble values of Pancasila can be found in the symbolic meanings of ulos, as the value of divinity, humanity, unity, democracy, and justice.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 313-333
Author(s):  
Ömer TÜRKMENOĞLU ◽  
Gülay LAÇİN

We need to give information about the definition and historical process of “operetta” before starting this study titled “Operettas from the Ottoman period to the present”. Operetta was a term used for short and unpretentious operas in the eighteenth century. At the end of the nineteenth century, "operetta" was called "small opera" and "musical theater" as a stage work, born out of the comic opera genre, developed in Paris and Vienna, one of the cultural and artistic centers of Europe. The operettas, which explained fun and emotional subjects in a simple language and appealed to a wide audience, also had the satiric feature of the lower class. In the Nineteenth Century Ottoman Period, when the influence of westernization began to be seen, interest in western style music increased along with the developments in Turkish music. Western style music was initially adopted by the people around the palace and later by the public and began to be performed. During this period, operettas were staged by Italian groups, and operettas were written by Turkish composers using Turkish and Western music together in the last quarter of the 19th century. In operettas written, the musical and instrumental features of Turkish music were used together with the harmony of Western music, and works were tried to be written using two different structures together. In this study, the development of operetta from the Ottoman period to the present day, which emerged in line with the Westernization movement, was discussed. The operettas that were written in this period but were not supported by the conditions of that period, could not be completed and therefore were not performed and forgotten, and operettas that have survived to the present day and have the characteristics of Turkish Music have been identified according to the sources. "Arif's Hilesi", known as the first Turkish operetta written in the Ottoman period and composed by Dikran Çuhaciyan, and the "İstanbulname" operetta composed by Turgay Erdener, one of the last generation composers, were also examined. Keywords: Ottoman, Republic, Period, Turkish, Operetta


Author(s):  
Isaac Donoso

This chapter examines the Ottoman role in politics in the Philippines with especial reference to the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, when much of the Philippine Archipelago came under Spanish control. Spanish documents analysed here suggest that colonial policy-makers were profoundly concerned about potential Ottoman influence over the Muslim sultanates of the Philippines—Sulu and Maguindanao. The Spanish archival and literary sources also contain records of attempts by the Philippine sultanates to contact the Ottoman Caliph in Istanbul, not merely to counter the Spanish threat but also to intervene in internal disputes. These efforts never seem to have met with success. Eventually, instead of gaining Ottoman protection, and despite adopting Caliphal titles, at the end of the nineteenth century the Philippine sultanates were forced to accept Spanish suzerainty.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document