XI. A Century of Rural Expansion in Assam, 1870-1970

Itinerario ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Richards ◽  
J. Hagen

The seven districts of present-day Assam state, comprising 7.8 million hectares (78,496 km2), lie in the valley of the Brahmaputra river in the extreme northeast of India. On the map they form an extended finger of riverine land pointing toward the mountain boundary. Assam has been a steadily developing frontier region since the middle decades of the nineteenth century. One arm of this development has been that of the plantation economy devoted to tea production in the highlands. British capital, British managers, and Indian coolie labor formed the essential elements in this growing export-oriented economy. From 1870 another settler-based frontier society emerged when peasant migrants from Bengal and ex-tea-laborers took up government-owned wastelands along the Brahmaputra and its tributaries to grow paddy rice. Together these two forces have transformed the face of the land and created a new society in Assam over the past century. The British colonial regime's policies generally favored the development and growth of both the estate and the smallholder sectors of Assam's economy. In this process the indigenous Assamese — whether peasant cultivators or tribal hill peoples — have faced immense pressures on their society and way of life. The purpose of this essay is to delineate the transformations in the land and the agricultural economy that accompanied this process in Assam.

1997 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha Vicinus

How and when did society first recognize women's homoerotic bonds? Were these romantic friendships fully accepted, or were they seen as problematic? Did the women involved see themselves as lesbians? These and other questions have been raised over the past twenty years by historians of lesbian sexuality. When Lillian Faderman in her pioneering survey of European and American lesbians declared the nineteenth century as the golden age of unproblematic romantic friendships, historians quickly responded with evidence to the contrary. Much of this debate has been focused on whether or not women could be considered “lesbian” before they claimed (or had forced on them) a publicly acknowledged identity. But the modern lesbian did not appear one day fully formed in the case studies of the fin-de-siècle sexologists; rather she was already a recognizable, if shadowy, subject for gossip among the sophisticated by at least the 1840s and 1850s. By examining closely a single divorce trial, I hope to show that literary and legal elites acknowledged lesbian sexuality in a variety of complex ways. Their uneasy disapproval encompassed both a self-conscious silence in the face of evidence and a desire to control information, lest it corrupt the innocent. Yet who can define the line between the ignorant and the informed? The very public discussion of the Codrington divorce, and most especially the role of the feminist, Emily Faithfull, in alienating Helen Codrington's affections from her husband, demonstrate the recognition of female homosexual behavior.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 141-147
Author(s):  
Maria Faidi

Accordingly to Shay and Sellers-Young (2005) “the term “belly dance” was adopted by natives and non-natives to denote all solo dance forms from Morocco to Uzbekistan that engage the hips, torso, arms and hands in undulations, shimmies, circles and spirals.” Dance historian Curt Sachs depicted the dance as “the swinging of the rectus abdominis” (Sachs 1963). This movement has been performed by many oriental dancers in the past century and has become part of the routine of oriental dancers worldwide. This movement has even named the dance “belly dance,” and become one of the most representative elements of contemporary Egyptian culture.This paper will be organized as follows: firstly, I am going to explain succinctly how I use the term “subaltern” in relation to dance and colonialism. Secondly, I am going to present the main scenarios, actors, and factors in which the rolling and trembling of the abdomen was danced, watched, desired and hated at the end of the nineteenth century, provoking strong love/hate reactions among the fin de siecle public. The discourse intermingles both dance and feminist analysis observing how movement constituted a metaphor of the unequal power relations between the metropolis and the colony within the particular historical context of British colonialism in Egypt.


1941 ◽  
Vol 1 (S1) ◽  
pp. 86-95
Author(s):  
R. M. Havens

During the past decade the rapid spread of governmental activities into new fields and their extension within the fields that had previously been entered have increased the attention always given to the question of the legitimate sphere of activity for the Federal Government. There has been a widespread assumption that throughout the nineteenth century with only insignificant exceptions this country followed a policy of laissez-faire. From this assumption many people have proceeded to argue that in the past decade the American people have suddenly turned from the tradition which made this the greatest industrial nation of the world and have adopted a course which leads away from the “American way of life.”


in education ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Elliott

Supported by a growing body of research, the idea that schools have an essential role to play in local community cohesion and development has gained currency among urban and rural school advocates alike. Yet moving theory into action often grinds to a halt in the face of a recalcitrant bureaucracy. To understand why, it is important to step back and examine the theoretical framework of progress that has driven school consolidation and bureaucratization over the past century. Knowing these underlying power dynamics will help community advocates understand where their power is weakest, and where it is strongest, leading to more effective community action in defence of local schools.Keywords: school consolitation; community action; community school


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin G. Barnhurst

Since the nineteenth century, more kinds of news outlets and ways of presenting news grew along with telegraphic, telephonic, and digital communications, leading journalists, policymakers, and critics to assume that more events became available than ever before. Attentive audiences say in surveys that they feel overloaded with information, and journalists tend to agree. Although news seems to have become more focused on events, several studies analyzing U.S. news content for the past century and a half show that journalists have been including fewer events within their coverage. In newspapers the events in stories declined over the twentieth century, and national newscasts decreased the share of event coverage since 1968 on television and since 1980 on public radio. Mainstream news websites continued the trend through the 2000s. Instead of providing access to more of the “what”, journalists moved from event-centered to meaning-centered news, still claiming to give a factual account in their stories, built on a foundation of American realism. As journalists concentrated on fewer and bigger events to compete, audiences turned away from mainstream news to look for what seems like an abundance of events in digital media.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-56
Author(s):  
Therese Jennissen ◽  
Colleen Lundy

INTRODUCTION: Many challenges that confront social workers today are similar to problems they have faced over the past century – inequality, poverty, unemployment, militarisation and armed conflict, and the challenges of refugee resettlement, to name a few. It is instructive for contemporary social workers to revisit this history and to determine if there are lessons to inform our current struggles.METHOD: This paper explores the issues faced and strategies employed by radical, politically active social workers, most of them women. These social workers had visions of social justice and were not afraid to challenge the status quo, often at very high personal costs. The radical social workers were expressly interested in social change that centred on social justice, women’s rights, anti-racism, international peace, and they worked in close alliance and solidarity with other progressive groups.CONCLUSIONS: This article highlights the work of five radical female social workers. Radical social workers were in the minority but they were extraordinarily active and made important contributions in the face of formidable challenges.


Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 363 (6424) ◽  
pp. eaat0805 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin R. Campos ◽  
Paul J. Coleman ◽  
Juan C. Alvarez ◽  
Spencer D. Dreher ◽  
Robert M. Garbaccio ◽  
...  

Innovations in synthetic chemistry have enabled the discovery of many breakthrough therapies that have improved human health over the past century. In the face of increasing challenges in the pharmaceutical sector, continued innovation in chemistry is required to drive the discovery of the next wave of medicines. Novel synthetic methods not only unlock access to previously unattainable chemical matter, but also inspire new concepts as to how we design and build chemical matter. We identify some of the most important recent advances in synthetic chemistry as well as opportunities at the interface with partner disciplines that are poised to transform the practice of drug discovery and development.


Author(s):  
Zuza Kurzawa

Skeletal figures of Holocaust victims, wounds and scars of the enslaved, blackened lungs of the smoker; powerful images convey powerful narratives. Over the past century, media has become increasingly pervasive. For social movements, this tool played a key role in achieving mass societal change. Looking to mimic a lasting paradigm shift, pro-life groups have realized that images are the catalyst for change. Ignoring the normative element of abortion, it is important to acknowledge two common goals shared by the pro-life and pro-choice communities. First, both desire to help women. Second, both want to reduce the number of abortions. The obvious disconnect, is the means under which both goals are met. However, over the past decade, the efforts of various ‘Centres for Bio-Ethical Reform’ have shown that one of the most effective methods in achieving both goals has been through graphic image campaigns. It will be argued that in order to help couples make informed decisions, and reduce the number of abortions, images of human development and abortion must be readily available to couples in crisis pregnancy. Using the findings and testimonies from the Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform Florida 2011 mission, it can be demonstrated that convictions about abortion change in face of graphic imagery. Because it does not overtly challenge current legislation, but instead decreases the number of abortions, it ought to be honoured by both parties. Under the protection of the first amendment, pro-life groups in America can freely share these images to encourage discussion. In Canada, ‘freedom of speech’ and ‘freedom of expression’ are often compromised in the face of adversity; conclusively the pro-life message is often silenced. Thus, by virtue of being able to share the reality of the procedure, Americans are leading in the race to eventually eradicate the perceived necessity of abortion.


Author(s):  
Krisztina Frauhammer

This chapter examines the genre of nineteenth-century Hungarian Neolog Jewish women's prayer books. It argues that the prayer books must be read in the context of emancipation and the increasing secularization of Hungarian society. It also describes the creation of prayers that sanctify a vocation of motherhood and child-rearing, which charged mothers with passing Jewish identity on to their children in the home. The chapter talks about Neolog prayer books that imagine the Jewish mother as a bulwark against secularization and simultaneously invest mothers with the power to recreate tradition in the face of emancipation. It points out how mothers are idealized and entrusted with the past for the sake of the future, enabling fathers to become part of public life outside the home.


PMLA ◽  
1965 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 549-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Kuist

In a volume of miscellaneous manuscripts at the British Museum, placed at random and inconspicuously among larger folio leaves, is a set of notes headed “Sterne.” The notes were written by Joseph Hunter, the nineteenth-century antiquary and literary historian, and they came to the British Museum with Hunter's other papers shortly after his death in 1861. In view of the abundant information about Sterne's private life which the notes contain, it is surprising that this item has remained unindexed and that it is not mentioned in the catalogue description of the volume. In the absence of such references, very likely only an occasional reader who has happened upon them has seen these notes, and, since the major biographies of Laurence Sterne make no use of distinct details which Hunter provides, it is quite possible that none of Sterne's biographers have encountered Hunter's information during the past century. At present, our familiarity with the early years of Sterne's marriage and his residence at Sutton-on-the-Forest is rather limited, based as it is upon isolated public records, some letters, fugitive anecdotes, and the unflattering and sometimes vicious account written by John Croft. No impartial memoirs with any claim to authenticity or wealth of details have until now seemed available. Thus, the intimate account of Sterne which Hunter has given presents to modern scholars an unexpected and promising opportunity to gain new insight into the life and, perhaps, into the work of one of England's most unusual writers. A transcript of Hunter's notes appears below, followed by a brief evaluation of them according to our present knowledge of Laurence Sterne.


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