Field Of Historical Studies Research Articles

Short-Term Accommodations and Long-Term Housing Challenges in the Margaret River Tourist Destination: A Perspective of Population Movement and Pricing

This study aimed to investigate the impact of short-stay accommodation (SSA) on housing dynamics, community welfare, and economic development in the Margaret River regional area. Grounded in an exploratory research paradigm, qualitative methods were used to gather insights from key stakeholders such as property owners, realtors, and council officials. Purposive sampling was utilized to select participants with diverse experiences and perspectives on SSA. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, totaling 21 interview sessions spanning almost 600 min, to capture in-depth and nuanced perspectives on SSA’s impact and regulatory landscape. Thematic analysis of the interview data, which was divided into two segments, revealed significant concerns regarding housing affordability, community well-being, and regulatory effectiveness. Additionally, the study uncovered a complex relationship between SSA and population dynamics, highlighting implications for the local housing infrastructure and market stability. The findings underscore the urgency of collaborative policy interventions to address the housing crisis and mitigate the adverse effects of SSA on local communities. Policymakers and stakeholders can utilize these insights to develop holistic strategies that prioritize equity, inclusivity, and shared prosperity in shaping the future of housing in regional areas such as Margaret River. This study contributes original insights by providing a nuanced understanding of the multifaceted implications of SSA on housing dynamics and community welfare in a regional context. By using qualitative methods and engaging key stakeholders, the research offers unique perspectives on the challenges and opportunities associated with the proliferation of SSA, thereby advancing scholarly discourse, and informing evidence-based policymaking in the field of housing studies.

Struggling for Housing Justice – New Theoretical and Methodological Approaches

ABSTRACT How can struggles for housing justice act as a lens to expand housing researchers’ understanding of the rental crisis and of the systems that underpin this crisis? By presenting papers from Sweden, Spain, Greece, the UK, and Australia this special issue contributes with knowledge on how housing struggles can inform new theoretical and methodological approaches within the field of housing studies. In turn, the SI presents three tenets that together form a framework for housing scholars: institutionalization as politics, tenants as political actors, and learning housing justice. We argue that it is crucial for housing scholars to recenter on struggles for housing justice in their readings of contemporary housing systems.

Operationalizing the problem of political alienation for housing studies

This paper adds to a revitalization of alienation as a political problem in the field of housing studies, pointing us to property relations that fragment tenants from acting together with other residents in similar positions. Analyzing ethnographic observations and interviews conducted in Basel with tenants facing mass cancellations of rental contracts, it operationalizes the problem of alienation to more closely examine the interplay of property relations and the subjective or collective experience of tenants: The consolidation of landlords’ interests through complicit legal frameworks fragments tenants not only by producing insecurities within affected blocks. This consolidation also drives processes of individualization and conflict between fellow tenants and between tenants and their union, as well as harms tenants’ belief in (local) political institutions. On the other hand, experiencing these fragmentations and the widespread inhibition of people to act together with others is, in some cases, the most sorrowful aspect for tenants facing rental contract cancellations in Basel. With the proposed understanding of alienation, the paper adds to two debates in housing studies: Outlining alienating property relations, it first foregrounds institutional constraints regarding the question of why many residents do not confront landlords’ plans. Secondly, political alienation highlights the sorrow that can stem from the inhibition of collective action. Here the paper contributes to the debate around displacement and un-homing, showing them to be much more than the loss of original habitat. Lastly, the paper responds to the query of how to empirically apply the theoretically driven concept of alienation by moving questions of collective agency to the fore in housing and alienation theory.

Peran Komunitas Pecinta Sejarah (Kompas) dalam Mendukung Kegiatan Pembelajaran Sejarah

AbstractThe title of this research is “The Role of Historical Community (KOMPAS) in Supporting History Learning (a Descriptive Study of an Extracurricular KOMPAS at SMAN 22 Bandung.”The researcher’s background takes the theme of the research based on an interest in extracurricular activities in field of historical study at Senior High School. The choice of the Historical Community as the object of research is because this community the only extracullicullar based on historical learning that exist in Bandung and has not yet received attention among academics. The main problem in this research is “What is the role of the historical community (KOMPAS) in supporting students historical learning at school?” Based on these problems, the writer divides them into three problem formulations. How was the development of the Historical Community (KOMPAS) in 2015-2019? How has the Historical Community (KOMPAS) designed its programs to support history learning? What is the impact of the Historical Community (KOMPAS) on learning history in 2015-2019?.The method used in this research is descriptive study. The results of this study indicate that the background to the establishment of the Historical Community (KOMPAS) is the development of a history study group that is engaged in developing students' historical insight and skills. After the Historical Community (KOMPAS) was officially established as an extracurricular, this group attempted to create interactive history learning programs that support history learning. The impact of theHistorical Community at SMAN 22 Bandung is to provide a variety of learning resources in developing history learning materials.

Remaking Slums: International Examples of Upgrading Neighbourhoods

The slum, self-constructed houses and neighbourhoods, signifies the dwelling and home for a very representative part of humanity. This text analyses the different typologies and the different possible and ethical strategies for foreseeing, for remaking and for the resettlement of these self-produced neighbourhoods. Some study cases and examples as references are presented, such as Solanda neighbourhood in Quito, Ecuador, and the Favela-Bairro programme in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This article is situated in the field of housing studies and focused specially on architectural issues.

영상기록에 담긴 해방과 한국전쟁의 일상— 미국 기록영화를 중심으로 —

The study aims to analyze the visual recordings that capture social images of the North and South Korea during the liberation and the Korean war, produced by non-Korean nationals. The article also critically restructures the Koreans daily lives by the mode of representation created by foreign film producers through the camera lenses. Moving images from visual media, such as movies, photos, and video recordings, can be important historical texts in addition to the official and unofficial documents. Those images should be considered as important historical materials as a “visual paper.” The study seeks to expand the scope of historical research by using the video records produced by the U.S. military as the key material. The subject of analysis is video records, which include produced newsreels, video clips and captured visual footage during the war by the U.S. military. Most visual clips about the Korean war in Europe, including Britain and France, were originated from the U.S.’s, which resulted in a considerable number of overlaps between two continents. In contrast to theatrical movies, video records are produced from live-actions of the unfabricated reality. Video Records are based on historical fact. Newsreels, one of the most important forms in this genre, are often referred to as “news movie”, which include a famous South Korean Taehannyusŭ(Korean News). Video Records are made with specific purposes. Capturing the U.S. the Soviet Union, North, and South Korean politicians and ordinary people during the liberation and the Korean War, the films in this article shows intersecting emotions such as desire, joy, pain, and despair. The study aims to analyze the system of reproduction of such clips filmed the eight years after the liberation. In particular, by rearranging the fragments in different video clips that capture daily life, this study tries to delineate a vivid illustration of ordinary days during the liberation and the war. Visual recordings can offer a wide range of socio-cultural information on the modern history of Korea. Researches on video records will not only deepen the study of political/economic history. It also allows us to observe the cultural history, including, in this case, the emergence of various subjectivities during this historic moment and their new experiences. This is why research of video records should be more encouraged in the field of historical studies.

Reconsidering Domesticity through the Lens of Empire and Settler Society in North America

Abstract Our reconsideration of domesticity comes at a time when empire and colonial and postcolonial categories of analysis are informing many fields of historical study. This essay traces the historiographic origins of the intersection of domesticity and empire, focusing on domesticity’s usefulness as a window on cross-cultural intimacy and conflict. It also offers an example of how previous treatments of domesticity might be revised by taking empire and settler society into account.

Exploring Extended Kinship in Twenty-First-Century China: A Conceptual Case Study

Many observers of contemporary China notice the revival of the so-called traditional culture. This includes the public presence of rituals and artefacts that relate with traditional kinship, such as ancestral halls. This article explores a case in Shenzhen, the Huang lineage and the larger surname group. A methodological issue looms large: What exactly was the “tradition” that is perceived as reviving? The field of historical studies on Chinese kinship is a highly contested domain, especially regarding the nature and role of lineages. Therefore, we designed our article as a “conceptual case study”: we reflect upon the state of our knowledge about Chinese kinship in the traditional sense, develop a tentative conceptual framework, and apply this on our case. Central issues include the relationship between descent as constructed and performed via kinship rituals and patterns of cooperation among members of a lineage and the wider surname group.

VIEWS OF KATIB CELEBI ON STATE AND SOCIETY

The present article is devoted to the study of famous Ottoman historian Kâtip Celebi’s views in the context of Ibn Khaldūn’s teaching. The prominent Muslim historian Ibn Khaldūn (1332–1406) adheres to a scientific method in the fi eld of historical studies and gives economic priority over religious in the formation and development of the state and civilization. The political changes in the Islamic world in 15th century (the territorial expansion and culmination of Ottoman Empire) were of the utmost signifi cance to the development of Ottoman historiographical tradition. Ibn Khaldūn’s dominate infl uence on Ottoman intellectual thought remained until 20th century; hence the modern Turkish scientists designate this centuries-old tradition as “Ibn Khaldūnizm” (Ibn Haldunculuk). Kâtip Celebi shared Ibn Khaldūn’s method of historical criticism. The author considers that Katib Celebi should be viewed not only as historian, but also as an important representative of the Islamic sociological tradition established by Ibn Khaldūn. Kâtip Celebi rethought and developed Ibn Khaldūn’s views on state.

Divergence and Convergence of the Discussions on the Traditional Chinese World Order

중화제국의 세계질서에 대해서는 특히 조공체제와 관련해서 이미 많은 연구가 이뤄졌으며 그 과정에서 논란도 적지 않았지만, 오랫동안 널리 받아들여졌던 ‘중화제국질서’상이 존재했던 것도 사실이다. 책봉과 조공을 매개로 문화적 우월감을 가진 중국과 실익을 추구하는 동아시아 주변국들 간의 형식상 위계적인 관계망이 형성되어 19세기 중후반까지 유지되었다는 것이다. 그런데 근년 들어 새삼스럽게 그 문제를 보는 시각 차이가 커지며 논쟁이 확대되고 있다. 무엇보다 중국굴기에 따른 새로운 세계질서의 탐색과 관련하여 전통적인 문화와 제도에 대한 우호적인 관심이 증대되고, 이를 배경으로 철학자, 정치학자들의 참여도 늘어나며 전근대 중국의 국제질서에 대한 논의가 확산되고 있다. 그 과정에서 조공질서가 조화를 중시하는 유교적 이념에 근거하여 제도화 된 것으로 동아시아의 안정과 평화에 기여했다는 등 과도하게 단순화된 주장이 제기되고, 이런 이해를 바탕으로 신조공질서, 신천하주의, 천하체계 등을 둘러싼 다양한 담론이 이뤄지고 있다. 다른 한편에서는 조선, 베트남을 비롯한 주변국들의 입장에서 조공관계의 실상을 해명하려는 연구가 꾸준히 이어지면서 책봉-조공과는 무관한 다양한 형태의 동아시아국제관계가 존재했으며, 조공국의 경우도 조공체제에 대한 이해가 중국의 입장과는 적지 않은 차이가 있다는 점 등이 지적되어 왔었다. 그런데 새로운 제국질서의 탐색과 관련하여, 과거의 조공질서를 과도하게 단순화, 이상화 시키며 긍정적으로 이해하는 담론이 부각되게 됨에 따라 조공체제론에 대한 비판적 재검토가 폭넓게 확대되게 되었다. 그 과정에서 먼저 ‘관용과 평화’의 제국의 이상과는 달리 과거의 중화제국이 주변국에게 정치 군사적인 압박을 가하고, 무력정복을 통해 ‘식민주의’적 영토 확장을 추진했다는 점 등이 강조되게 된 것이다. 나아가 조공질서 외에 회맹질서, 호시제도 등 다양한 방식이 전근대 국제관계기제로서 사용되었다는 점이 중시되며 동아시아 국제질서를 다중체제, 혹은 다원적 질서로 파악해야 된다는 주장이 강화되었다. 한편으로는 그 개념이 유발한 여러 혼란과 관련하여 조공체제론이 신화, 환상이 되었다며 그것을 넘어서야 된다는 주장도 제기되고, 대안적 틀의 모색 필요성이 제기되기도 하였다. 이러한 비판적 주장에 대해 적어도 역사학자들 사이에서는 상당한 공감이 나타나고 있다고 할 수 있다. 근년에 특히 새롭게 활성화된 조공체제를 둘러싼 논의에 대한 포괄적인 이해가 필요하다고 생각하여, 본고에서는 그 흐름을 위와 같이 정리해 보았다. 그러면 앞으로의 과제는 무엇인가? 조공질서 개념은 여전히 부분적이나마 유용성을 갖는가 아니면 완전히 폐기되는 것이 나은가? 다중체제론의 문제는 무엇인가 하는 등의 의문이 남는데, 이에 대해서는 추후 심도 있는 분석이 필요할 것으로 생각된다.It has been rather widely accepted among scholars that traditional China maintained the investiture-tribute relations for a long time with neighboring nations in which China claiming cultural superiority enjoyed prestige, while the tributary states gained practical benefits for political and economic purposes. In recent years, however, there arose renewed concern about the tributary system, resulting in the divergence of views on its historical roles and realities. Encouraged by the spotlight shed on Confucian culture and traditional system in the age of China’s economic rise, a growing number of philosophers and scholars of political and social sciences are paying attention to the world order of the pre-modern China. Some of them began to actively advocate that the tribute system based on the Confucianism contributed to the peace and stability of East Asia since it tended to esteem Confucian culture and rituals in international relations. On the other hand, from decades ago many other scholars had disputed the tribute system theory’s overstated Sino-centrism and culturalism. According to them, tributary states’ views of the ‘tribute system’ were considerably different from those of China. In recent years, as the general interest in the hyperbolic discourse on the system’s affirmative functions increased considerably, critics of the theory apparently began concerted efforts to pinpoint its deficiencies and problems. Among others, it came to be stressed that traditional China was never ‘benevolent’ empire. Not a few scholars claimed that premodern China was not different from other Western empires, referring to its frequent resorts to military forces to consolidate its rule and to expand its territory. After all, a growing number of critical researchers, at least in the field of historical studies, seemingly came to share the view that the tribute system theory has serious deficiencies in explaining the traditional East Asian international order. So alternative paradigms such as multi-system theory have been proposed by some, while some others are advocating for the discard of the treaty system theory.

Una nueva forma de pensar el tiempo, una nueva forma de pensar la historia: el siglo XIX en España

Resumen Desde finales del siglo XVIII se empieza a percibir en España una nueva forma de pensar el tiempo que tendrá importantes repercusiones en la forma de pensar la historia y de llevar a cabo la práctica política. En realidad asistimos a la coexistencia y entrelazamiento de diferentes temporalidades aunque el presente estudio va a centrarse particularmente en aquella que va a concebir el tiempo como una oportunidad, con sus avances y retrocesos, con sus dudas y problemas. Nos interesa analizar las diferentes soluciones a los problemas que esta nueva temporalidad suscitó a la hora de abordar el estudio histórico y su plasmación, al mismo tiempo, en propuestas políticas.

Between Structure and Thatcher. Towards a Research Agenda for Theory-Informed Actor-Related Analysis of Housing Politics

Researchers in the field of housing studies only seldom employ a ‘politics perspective’, analysing the political games and processes of housing provision and the political institutions of relevance to these processes. Instead political aspects are largely discussed either in terms of structural and cultural conditions and constraints on the macro level (‘Structure’ in the title), or as rather descriptive narratives about specific governments, elite actors and institutions, without the theoretical linkage necessary to draw more general conclusions (‘Thatcher’ in the title). This article introduces and develops some basic theoretical elements of a research agenda within housing studies exploring political actors (in a wide sense) and institutions, and allowing middle-range theorising and generalisation. It is discussed how such a perspective can be applied to the field of housing with its political specificities, in particular the central role of markets. Some earlier research of relevance to housing politics is reviewed, and ways forward are suggested.

Shopping and the Senses: Retail, Browsing and Consumption in 18th‐Century England

AbstractInterest in the senses has blossomed over the last decade, leading to numerous explorations of touch, smell, sound, taste and sight throughout history. Increasingly, historians are considering how this sensory methodology can enrich other fields of historical study. This article explores the potential for sensory history to open new avenues of thought in the field of urban consumption history. Focusing on the period of the so called ‘consumer revolution’, this article promotes a reassessment of shopping in 18th‐century English towns. This intersection of consumption history and sensory history encourages us to rethink numerous aspects of the process of shopping in the 18th century, including browsing, gender, urban space and agency. This article begins by assessing the current state of scholarship in these two branches of historical enquiry, before considering how their juncture impacts research moving forward.

Frank, William D. Everyone to Skis! Skiing in Russia and the Rise of Soviet Biathlon (review)

SEER, 92, 3, JULY 2014 576 though propaganda about labour competition and cultural enlightenment was accompanied by considerable cynicism and disorganization, nonetheless the autobiographical evidence and contemporary sociological research suggest that Nowa Huta also inspired enthusiasm and affection. This was especially true by the 1960s, when the infrastructure had finally been built, living standards had improved considerably and ‘skilled workers almost universally aspired for their children to gain a university degree’ (p. 158). On the other hand, for some groups opportunities closed in parallel with de-Stalinization. Lebow shows how both women and Roma benefited from equal opportunities campaigns during the Stalinist period but saw these gains rescinded after 1956. ‘Nowa Huta, meant to have led the way toward women’s equality at work, now exhibited the reverse trend: by the late 1950s, the district had one of the lowest rates of female employment in urban Poland. […] The shift was officially framed as a return to a traditionally Polish understanding of women’s essential role as a mother and a rejection of the “foreign” [i.e. Soviet] idea that women should perform the same work as men’ (p. 122). Although the book’s title suggests that it ends in 1956, in fact chapter six continues the story through to 1989 and beyond. Lebow suggests that ‘Nowa Huta’s embrace of Solidarity in the 1980s […] cannot simply be seen […] as a shedding or rejection of the Stalinist experience, a kind of prodigal son’s return’ (p. 154). Instead, there was always opposition, most importantly the battle over building the church, but also many smaller incidents. In 1968, ‘school dormitories in Nowa Huta has to be put under virtual lockdown to prevent secondary and technical school students from joining their protesting peers in Kraków’ (p. 170). 1970 — usually associated with the events on the Baltic coast — saw the replacement of the steelworks’ general director and first party secretary ‘“under pressure from the workforce”’ (p. 171). Overall, this is an exceptionally readable book which will be enjoyed by anyone interested in Polish history and which is also an important contribution to the literature on social dimensions of Stalinism. Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies A. White University of Bath Frank, William D. Everyone to Skis! Skiing in Russia and the Rise of Soviet Biathlon. Northern Illinois University Press, DeKalb, IL 2013. xii + 396 pp. Illustrations. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $39.95. William D. Frank’s book on Soviet biathlon adds to our knowledge of Soviet sports in several ways. Recognized as a ‘serious’ field of historical study during the last decade, more recent studies and collections on Soviet sports have focused on internationally well-known spectator sports, the most prominent REVIEWS 577 being football. Ice hockey comes in a close second, due to the highly politicized atmosphere around the Cold War hockey games between the USSR and prominent Western rivals such as the USA, Canada or Finland. Biathlon, on the other hand, at first seems an odd choice for a full-blown monograph. A combination of skiing and shooting, it is usually regarded as a direct successor to military patrol events but was formally recognized as an Olympic discipline by the IOC in 1954. Frank, however, places the evolution of biathlon within the larger context of Nordic (cross-country) skiing and opens his account with a concise overview of the evolution of skiing in Russia. He also argues that both the Soviet popularity of this militarized sport and the strong official support for biathlon are closely connected to the Soviet-Finnish war of 1940 (the so-called ‘Winter War’) in which the Finnish soldiers’ proficiency on skis gave them an important and unexpected advantage over the Soviet forces. The author rightly places great emphasis on this crucial episode — both for subsequent Soviet changes in military training, technique and equipment, and as the beginning of a longstanding Finnish-Soviet rivalry in biathlon and skiing. It is tempting to see biathlon as a near-ideal Soviet sport, favoured primarily for ideological reasons — Soviet sports ideology focused on military preparedness and mass practice, and the patriotic myth of the pogranichnik (the armed guard at the country’s frontiers) was ubiquitous during the Stalin years. Indeed...

정보통신기술과 주거에 대한 중요 담론 분석연구

This paper draws the home into the stream of information and communications technology (ICT) development. Considering that homes and our home life are constantly affected by persistent change influenced by ICT, it is remarkable that ICT has been relatively neglected as an object of research in the field of housing studies. This study provides an overview of conceptual movements in ICT/home relationships and their design and social impact through a critical discourse analysis. The conceptual movements must be considered by professionals in the field of housing and built environment to stay attuned to changes in the 21st Century. Diverse debates took place in the discourse about ICT in relation to home. The stream of thought was started by futurists who saw the electronic cottage as a solution to the social problems caused by the separation of work and home life in industrial cities. ICT has now entered a new phase, with WiFi P2P networks and location-based social media that encourage sharable homes. Based on the analysis of the discourse on ICT and home, we drew from three issues related to the paradigm shifts in homes in the context of ICT development to provide future directions for housing studies: from space programming to time scheduling, from individual ownership to shared access, and from live+work dwelling to live+work+community.

Introduction: Homes, Objects and Things

The authors that feature in this edition, with the exception of Dallas Rogers, presented their papers at a symposium that took place at the University of Tasmania in February 2012 to debate and reflect upon contemporary understandings of the meaning of home, household practices and sustainable housing amongst other topics. Our choice of the terms and as the title for the symposium was deliberate; we wished to engage with a style of thinking in sociological and geographical research that emphasises materiality or material cultures. This approach gives prominence to visible objects and material things above values, discourse and ideologies, all of which have been dominant modes investigation in the field of housing studies of late. In this introduction, we begin with a discussion of the key assumptions that inform a material cultural approach, we then provide short summaries of the papers and we conclude with some observations about the challenges for researchers wishing to engage with this mode of enquiry.

Researching emotion and affect in the history of education

This exploratory paper was prepared for a symposium held at the 2011 ISCHE conference in which participants were asked to envision future challenges in the historiography of education, to predict where the field was moving, and to imagine what innovations and new interests would arise in the subsequent 30 years. While the paper is playfully written from the vantage point of 30 years in the future and pretends to offer a retrospective review of what happened in the field over that period, its primary purpose is to seriously suggest a number of ways that historians of education might engage with the history of emotion and affect in their work. The first section of the paper describes the consolidation of the history of emotions as a field of historical study and discusses the importance of a ‘governmentality' approach. It is then suggested in the second section that historians of education increasingly drew on the concept of ‘affect' and developed ‘affective histories' of education that both built upon and departed from earlier histories of emotions. The third section of the paper discusses some of the ways in which historians of education incorporated into their work insights from neuroscience into consciousness and choice-making as well as an increased awareness of the object-mediated body.

Écrire le passé dans le présent : un regard anglo-saxon sur l'histoire

This article reviews some of the major developments in the field of historical studies from the late 1970s onwards. It argues that many of these developments take their cue from the emergence of the narrative or linguistic turn which can be dated back to the 1970s. Foucauldian ideas were also very influential in giving historical studies a new direction from the 1970s onwards. In particular the article looks at the development of gender history, the history from below and memory history. Subsequently it reviews the diverse impact the narrative and linguistic turn had on traditional areas of history writing, including political, social, economic and cultural history. In particular the rise of the new cultural history from the 1980s onwards was deeply connected to the linguistic turn and resulted in a visual turn and in the opening up of new areas for research, among which the turn to material culture was of particular importance over the last decade or so. The article concludes by discussing the increasing move towards forms of interdisciplinarity and intertextuality and the popularity of transnational history writing (including comparative history and the history of cultural transfers), among which world and global history have had the strongest appeal of late.

Writing the Past in the Present: An Anglo-Saxon Perspective

AbstractThis article reviews some of the major developments in the field of historical studies from the late 1970s onwards. It argues that many of these developments take their cue from the emergence of the narrative or linguistic turn which can be dated back to the 1970s. Foucauldian ideas were also very influential in giving historical studies a new direction from the 1970s onwards. In particular the article looks at the development of gender history, the history from below and memory history. Subsequently it reviews the diverse impact the narrative and linguistic turn had on traditional areas of history writing, including political, social, economic and cultural history. In particular the rise of the new cultural history from the 1980s onwards was deeply connected to the linguistic turn and resulted in a visual turn and in the opening up of new areas for research, among which the turn to material culture was of particular importance over the last decade or so. The article concludes by discussing the increasing move towards forms of interdisciplinarity and intertextuality and the popularity of transnational history writing (including comparative history and the history of cultural transfers), among which world and global history have had the strongest appeal of late.

Myron Echenberg and African Studies in Canada

Myron Echenberg's scholarship resides on the frontier of both African Studies in Canada and historical research in general. He has helped not only to establish African history as a valid field for historical study but also to transform the parameters of history as a discipline, both the opening up of the study of non-Western societies and the increasing focus on newer kinds of history. He made his mark with a prize-winning study of the social history of African soldiers in the French army; and he spent the latter part of his career doing original work on medical history. The profound influence of his work is celebrated in this special issue. Three of the contributions to this issue, all dealing with medical history, are by Echenberg's former graduate students; two contributions are by close colleagues. In both his teaching and his writing, Echenberg has contributed to an understanding of the social issues of our time; but perhaps more important, he has through his teaching and his mentoring very much enriched the educational experience and well-being of his students and his colleagues.