Celebrating 50 years of equal franchise in the United Kingdom: personal reflections on celebrations in 1978

Interest in swimming for women during the second half of the nineteenth century was stimulated by the public appearances of professional female natationists who performed in endurance events, exhibited and raced in swimming baths, and displayed ornamental swimming skills in music hall tanks, as well as teaching swimming in female-only classes. This narrative explores briefly the life course of Agnes Beckwith, the ‘London Naiad’, during the last quarter of the century and concludes that individuals like Agnes, who had a lifetime of involvement in all areas of aquatics, contributed significantly to the increasing popularity of the activity among women.     

The Perestroika Movement in American Political Science and its Lessons for Chinese Political Studies

The Perestroika movement in the American Political Science Association has called attention to controversies facing the discipline of Political Science in the United States. These problems include fragmentation and incoherence, methodological “totalitarianism,” lack of relevance and parochialism. This article summarizes the complaints of the Perestroika movement, and suggests ways in which Chinese political studies can avoid similar pitfalls.