Freedom and Equality for the Sake of National Independance? The Liberalism of Fukuzawa Yukichi and its Shortcomings

Fukuzawa Yukichi is considered to be one of the most important Japanese philosophers during the Meiji period (1868-1912) who is known for his strong advocacy of liberal values such as freedom and equality. His plea contained the political demands of liberalising Japanese society and reforming its strict social hierarchy. However, within the logical structure of Fukuzawa’s argument, these principles only assume an instrumental value in which they are conceived as a means to secure Japan’s national independence, which ultimately weakens his endorsement of liberalism. The case of Fukuzawa Yukichi thereby constitutes a particularly important example of how the instrumental approach towards liberal rights by philosophers in Meiji Japan undermined the liberal movement itself and contributed to its own decline and the corresponding rise of nationalism. Keywords: Liberalism, Nationalism, Fukuzawa Yukichi, Meiji Japan, Japanese Philosoph

Gollum and the Mystery of Evil

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings features characters of various evil natures. Some characters are beings who commit sins of a spiritual nature, while others, like Gollum, commit acts of sin related to the flesh. This paper examines the type of evil Gollum represents, how it affects others, and whether or not he can change

Dynamic correlations between inhomogeneous magnetic fields, internal gradients, diffusion and transverse relaxation, as a probe for pore geometry and heterogeneity

In this study we have applied 2D NMR experiments where the spatial inhomogeneous magnetic field (Bi) inside a porous sample is correlated to respectively internal gradient (G0), diffusion coefficient (D), and transverse relaxation time (T2) of a confined liquid. Experiments were performed on samples having different pore system geometry and heterogeneity, leading to different types of confinement of the liquid. The results show that the correlation between G0 and Bi is more sensitive to the type of confinement, and thus also of the pore geometry and heterogeneity, compared to the corresponding correlations involving D and T2

Spaces, Places and Things. The Spatial Dimension of Early Indian Ocean Exchange

Early exchange along the maritime Silk Road not only spanned immense distances, but was also subject to—among other things—seasonal weather systems, hazardous waters, arid and sparsely populated coastlines with few suitable harbours, and limits imposed by infrastructure and technology. Juxtaposing theoretical models for the spatial organisation of premodern exchange with the fragmentary record of experiences handed down in historical sources, and modern digital methods for the analysis of spatial relations, this chapter addresses how we can approach the space-placethings conundrum in the context of early Indian Ocean exchange.publishedVersio

Climate Change in Urban Biographies: Stage, Event, Agent

How do archaeologists understand the relationship between climate, climate change, and urban biographies? In this article, I argue that urban biographies should be approached as the life stories they claim to be, with events propelling the narrative between phases or periods in the history of a city. In order to integrate the wealth of palaeoclimatological data now available into such narratives, scholars need to be conscious about how the relationship between climate and urban change is modelled. Taking a bibliometric survey of urban archaeology as the point of departure, different narrative templates for using climate to explain urban trajectories are identified and briefly exemplified on the basis of scholarship on the Early/Middle Bronze Age transition in the Near East and the Maya Classical/post-Classical transition.publishedVersio

The Classical World in a Norwegian Workers' Encyclopedia: Arbeidernes Leksikon (1931–1936)

The Norwegian Arbeidernes leksikon, “Workers’ Encyclopedia,” was published in six volumes from 1931–1936. It was inspired by The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, explicitly aimed at working-class readers, and establishing an alternative to the hegemonic bourgeoise discourse. The editors and many of the contributors belonged to the Communist Party of Norway (NKP) and the independent communist intellectual organization Mot Dag (“Towards Dawn”). This article investigates the reception and representation of the ancient world in Arbeidernes leksikon based on selected articles through the lens of narrative theory. Classical education was traditionally the domain of the upper classes. It is argued that the Workers’ Encyclopedia demonstrates that reorienting the reception of ancient history was considered essential both to rewrite history according to Marxist doctrine and to establish workers’ culture as a full-fledged alternative to its bourgeoise counterpart. In the Workers’ Encyclopedia, the classical past is celebrated not for its empires and rulers but for the effort of the masses and their struggle for freedom.publishedVersio

Påvirker endringer i aksje- og boligformue privat konsum? : en empirisk analyse på norske data

Denne oppgaven undersøker om endringer i aksje- og boligformue påvirker privat konsum i Norge. Videre drøftes en tilleggshypotese om at boligformue har større effekt på privat konsum enn aksjeformue, og en hypotese om at effekten fra boligformue har økt i de senere år. Oppgaven finner at endringer i både aksje- og boligformue påvirker privat konsum i norske husholdninger, som er i tråd med teori og internasjonale undersøkelser. Effekten fra boligformue er signifikant større enn effekten fra aksjeformue, som også støttes av en analyse av norsk aksje- og boligeierskap der norske husholdninger i stor grad eier egen bolig, men lite aksjer. Oppgaven finner indikasjoner på at effekten fra boligformue har økt fra midten av 2000-tallet, men kan ikke konkludere sikkert