‘Sable venus’, ‘she devil’ or ‘drudge’? British slavery and the ‘fabulous fiction’ of black women's identities,c. 1650–1838

Abstract

In this article, the author addresses the problem of how much historians can understand about the identities of individuals living in a different epoch in time, in relation to what has been termed the ‘fabulous fiction’ of black women's identities in slavery and freedom. A central argument is that stereotypes of black women were highly gendered and clustered around contradictory representations, particularly the ‘Sable Venus’, ‘She Devil’ and passive ‘drudge’. Thus, the persistence of an African-centred ‘woman's culture’ and strategies of resistance, collaboration and survival are vital to understanding black women's self-defined (as opposed to white attributed) identities. The first section examines the relationship between gender, race and culture in the mediation of African and slave women's identities. This is followed by a critical deconstruction of the ‘Sable Venus’ and interrelated black and white gendered identities in colonial slave society. The final section analyses the importance of the ‘She Devil’ in representing the resistant slave woman who defied the ‘fabulous fiction’ of white stereotyping of black women. A wide time span is adopted in order to analyse how black women's relationship to the gendered power structures underpinning colonial slavery shifted over time, as did ‘white visions’ of their identities. Unifying themes are the central location black women had in the development of colonial relations between black and white and the implications of contact at the harsh interface of African and European cultures for black women's gendered identities.     

Crisis intervention team training: when police encounter persons with mental illness

Abstract

The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model is an established training program used to improve police response to encounters involving persons with mental illness (PwMI). Diversion of PwMI from the criminal justice system to appropriate treatment providers in the community is one of the primary goals of CIT. The present study examines characteristics and outcomes of encounters between citizens experiencing mental health-related crises and CIT-trained patrol officers. Findings of this study indicate encounters involving PwMI and CIT-trained officers often result in diversion to mental health services. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.     

Effect of Temperature on Six Different Developmental Landmarks within the Pupal Stage of the Forensically Important Blowfly Calliphora vicina (Robineau‐Desvoidy) (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

This study investigates the pupal development times of the blow fly Calliphora vicina, which were studied in the laboratory at six different constant temperatures (15, 20, 23, 25, 28, and 30°C each ± 1°C). Lower thresholds (t_L) for development were estimated from the linear regression of the developmental rates on each temperature. These data have made it possible to calculate the accumulated degree days (ADD) necessary for C. vicina to complete the larval stage and to achieve adult emergence. The minimal duration of development from oviposition to adult emergence was found to be inversely related to temperature. Additionally, six landmarks in pupal development are showed, and for each of the landmarks, the ADD value was calculated for every rearing temperature involved. These data assist in calculating the duration of the pupal stage based on morphological characteristics and would be of great value for future forensic entomological casework.     

The Soteriological Role of the ṛṣi Kapila, According to the Yuktidīpikā

A basic teaching of classical Sā?khya is that repeated embodiment is the result of an individual’s ignorance of the distinction between prak?ti and puru?a. The only exception to this is the ??i Kapila, legendary founder of Sā?khya, who was born with innate knowledge of this distinction. It is this knowledge that leads to liberation from sa?sāra when it is acquired. This brings up the question, why was Kapila incarnated in the first place? If he already possessed this knowledge, what need did he have for further experience of prak?ti’s activity? The classical commentators on the Sā?khyakārikā give various accounts of the nature and origin of Kapila, but they do not directly address this question. However, the evidence of one commentary, the Yuktidīpikā, does provide clues to the reason behind Kapila’s incarnation. In this article, I argue that the author of the Yuktidīpikā views Kapila as a direct embodiment of prak?ti’s soteriological potential for all puru?as.     

Temporary Transnationals: Southeast Asian Students in Australia

Despite rapidly increasing global flows of international students, research to date has paid little heed to how students abroad identify and mobilise. Focusing on the experience of Indonesians, Malaysians and Singaporeans in Australia – a primary hub for international education – we explore the ways in which our informants understand their place and potential as students. We find international students to comprise a distinct sort of diaspora. With their liminal status, these – for the most part – only temporary transnationals do internalise new norms and agency in a personal sense. However, they tend to identify increasingly as national citizens and to be disinclined to mobilise politically, at least during the course of their studies. These findings add to our understanding both of collective identity and action among students, and of the broader implications of globalisation and internationalisation for social and political activism.     

The politics and economics of “retraditionalization” in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

This paper analyzes attitudes of women enrolled in secular and religious universities in the capital cities of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan toward family life and the role of Islam in the private and public sphere. Survey data indicate that women from both types of universities in both countries sympathize with retraditionalization, or “a return to traditional values, family life, and religion, which entails, in part, women being moved out of the work force.” Thus far, there is no statistical evidence of this phenomenon in the literature. Sympathy for retraditionalization is unfolding in the context of ongoing economic uncertainty that has plagued Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan since the Soviet Union's collapse, and its manifestations produce political responses. I argue that Kyrgyz and Tajik elites push a particular gender norm implying female secularization to counter expressions of retraditionalization among young women. In conclusion, I highlight counterintuitive findings of the survey regarding Islam's role in Central Asian society and discuss collective versus individual acts of resistance to female secularization policies in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.     

The politics of post-conflict space: the mysterious case of missing graffiti in ‘post-troubles’ Northern Ireland

Why is there so little graffiti in Northern Ireland compared to cities in North America and Europe – including Great Britain, to which it is constitutionally connected, and Ireland, with which it is geographically connected? This question is particularly perplexing given the highly developed political mural tradition on both sides of the sectarian divide in the North, and the almost 15 years that have passed since the signing of the Peace Agreement ending some three decades of militarized conflict. This paper explores the connections between the absence of graffiti, and the street-level structures and processes of reconciliation or conflict – with a specific focus on the geopolitics of paramilitary control within communities throughout Northern Ireland. The contributions of the paper are three-fold: (1) it highlights the importance of graffiti as a (usually neglected) lens for assessing the degree to which the expected benefits of a peace agreement are experienced at the street level; (2) it addresses the methodological challenge of how to examine something that is not there (specifically, it studies the absence of graffiti in Northern Ireland by comparing it to the logic, mechanics and meanings of graffiti elsewhere); and (3) it questions the well-marketed representation of Northern Ireland as a unqualified case of successful post-agreement peace.     

A New Bi-continental Approach to Transatlantic Defence Cooperation

The prospect of transatlantic cooperation in the field of defence systems depends on reaching an acceptable point of equilibrium. Without it, Europe will face the unacceptable strategic, political, economic and industrial risks of total American predominance in this field (with the consequent loss of technical and production expertise). The reduction of the gap between Europe and the United States depends on the integration of the European defence market. This must not be seen as a threat for transatlantic collaboration, but as an opportunity. Building up a transatlantic market could also improve the efficiency of the American market by increasing competition. This collaboration, based not on bilateral, national or multilateral agreements, but on bi-continental cooperation, is the challenge that Europe and the United States must face and meet together.