ABSTRACT The project Indigeneities in the twenty-first century attempts to understand how Indigenous actors have evolved from ‘vanishing people’ to global players. The project deploys and investigates a set of contested knowledge practices through which Indigenous multiplicities become constituted. In this article, we lay out the ways in which the various project initiatives simultaneously operate from several localities by engaging at the ‘cultural interface’. In doing so, the research group produces cross-cultural knowledge and enacts a ‘relational ethics’ through the (re)activation of the relational space of the vā. We then zoom in on the sub-project Sāmoan Multiplicities: Experiences of Sāmoan-ness. We argue that archival-museum practices aimed at (re)activating historical knowledge and historical narratives inscribed in travelling things – objects, photographs, archival records – that nowadays often hibernate in archive-museum collections, intervene in the (re)constitution of multiple experiences of Sāmoan-ness, from the past to the present and future.

History education: Past, present, and challenges for the future.

Chemistry has evolved from empirical pattern recognition to a unified, physics-informed science governed by universal principles. This perspective traces the conceptual progression of chemical thought from Mendeleev’s periodic classification to thermodynamics, quantum mechanics and the emerging systems view of self-organisation and complexity. By dividing this trajectory into four historical phases viz. (i) thermodynamic and kinetic universality, (ii) nonideal solution theory and ionic interactions, (iii) quantum-mechanical interpretation of matter and bonding, and (iv) self-organisation in far-from-equilibrium systems. Each phase contributed to a deeper understanding of matter-energy relationships and strengthened the theoretical foundations of chemistry. Emphasis is placed on the interplay between the macroscopic laws and microscopic models, with recurring themes of order, symmetry and energy flow serving as unifying principles across both equilibrium and non-equilibrium phenomena. This conceptual synthesis illustrates the natural convergence of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and quantum theory, giving rise to systems chemistry and the modern study of emergent behaviour. Beyond its historical narrative, the work asserts that an analysis of chemistry through its evolving paradigms reveals a coherent scientific continuum integrating atomic theory, information and complexity, thereby positioning chemistry as a central discipline for elucidating organisational principles in natural systems.

The purpose of the research is the critical rethinking and interpretation of the phenomenon of Antiquity on the territory of modern Ukraine, proceeding from V. Petrov's concept of the "Theory of Epochs." The study aims to substantiate the originality of the Ukrainian civilizational process during the antique period and to refute the notion of the monopolistic dominance of Roman influences on the frontier. The article seeks to integrate the Ukrainian historical grand narrative into the European community by establishing its own civilizational links with the Antique era, moving beyond the exclusively Greco-Roman paradigm. The methodology is based on the civilizational approach and conceptual-historical analysis. The principle of complementarity using modern data to reinforce Petrov's theory, as well as methods of critical source analysis and the comparative-historical method, are employed. The research incorporates V. Petrov's ideas concerning the structural integrity of the epoch, the "categories," and the "break" of civilizational periods. The scientific novelty represent argument that the Zarubyntsi and Chernyakhiv cultures represent an original (local) variant of Antique culture that developed in coexistence with the Greco-Roman world, rather than merely as its passive object. It is demonstrated that Hellenistic influences, through changes in the economic and social structure, were determinative for the region, while Roman influences were limited and secondary, especially given the absence of full-fledged provincial Romanization on the territory of Ukraine. This allows for a reassessment of the essence of the Antique era in Ukraine as a period featuring an active civilizational subject. Keywords: antiquity, V. Petrov, Romanization, Roman influence, “Classical Antiquity,” the Northern Black Sea region, Roman limes.

The article examines the transformation of Ukrainian-Russian relations between 1991 and 2024 through the conceptual framework of historical and political science discourse. This period is characterized by a shift from formal cooperation to open confrontation, culminating in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Particular attention is paid to information warfare as a central element of hybrid threats that define the contemporary stage of bilateral relations. It is interpreted not only as a tool for manipulating public consciousness but also as a mechanism for constructing an alternative reality in which war crimes are justified and expansionist policies legitimized. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the essence and significance of the definitions used to describe the processes of information warfare and hybrid threats within the Ukrainian-Russian context. The methodological framework combines general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, discourse analysis of historical and political narratives, and the use of Ukrainian legal acts together with international scholarly findings (notably the Erasmus+ WARN project). The article systematizes such concepts as hybrid warfare, information warfare, propaganda, disinformation, manipulation, astroturfing, bots, deepfake, and echo chambers, which reflect the new forms of influence characteristic of the digital age. The scientific novelty lies in integrating historical-political approaches with information studies, thereby revealing the multidimensional nature of the ongoing conflict. For the first time, the conceptual apparatus of Ukrainian-Russian relations is presented as an integrated system encompassing technical (cyberattacks, cyber espionage), communicative (propaganda, bots, fake news), and ideological (instrumentalization of history, the Russian World, the Great Patriotic War) components. This approach explains the effectiveness of Russian information aggression while simultaneously outlining possible counter-strategies. The conclusions emphasize that information warfare has become a decisive factor in the transformation of Ukrainian-Russian relations between 1991 and 2024. Its systemic and multi-level nature has enabled Russia to influence both domestic public opinion and international discourse. The practical significance of the study lies in applying the conceptual framework to develop state information policies, strengthen societal resilience to hybrid threats, and design Ukrainian counter-narratives. Future research should focus on analyzing international initiatives in the field of information security and incorporating Ukraine’s experience into the global context of countering information warfare. Keywords: Ukrainian-Russian relations, information warfare, hybrid threats, propaganda, disinformation, Russian World, conceptual framework.

The Java War (1825–1830) was not only interpreted as a political and military conflict between Prince Diponegoro and Dutch colonialism, but also as a space that showed the active role of women in the struggle. One of the most prominent manifestations is the existence of the Estri Soldiers, a women's army formed since the era of Raden Mas Said (Mangkunegara I) and has a strategic role in the defense of the Kingdom of Mataram. This research aims to reveal the contribution of the female soldiers in the military, social, and political dimensions of the Java War through the framework of Carl von Clausewitz's guerrilla war theory, Hannah Arendt's whole society approach, the concept of Women, Peace and Security (WPS), and strategic feminism. The method used is qualitative with a literature study of the main works of Peter Carey & Vincent Houben (2016) as well as other archival and secondary sources. The results of the study show that Estri Soldiers are not only supporting actors, but also frontline combatants with combat skills, elite guards of the king, logistics managers, and agents of symbolic diplomacy. This role affirms that women are an integral part of the total war strategy, with significant political impact in maintaining the legitimacy of power. Through the lens of WPS, it was also found that Estri Warriors had realized gender-based participation, protection, and prevention long before the concept was formulated at the global level. This research emphasizes the importance of an inclusive reconstruction of historical narratives, in which women are placed not as objects of war, but as strategic subjects in national defense.

ABSTRACT Focusing on Grant’s 2023 novel The Story of the Forest, this article explores how British-Jewish writer Linda Grant revitalizes the Jewish-British family saga by following four generations of Jewish women from a 1913 encounter in a Baltic forest to their eventual settlement in Liverpool. Drawing on theories of transgenerational and relational memory, Jewish feminist criticism, and contemporary feminist conceptions of generational and relational time, the analysis reveals how the novel constructs Jewish memory as transmitted through women’s stories. Grant transforms the traditional male-centered hero’s journey into a feminist, female-driven quest, positioning women as key agents in preserving memory and reshaping historical narratives. The article argues that this relational and feminist approach addresses the absence of female role models in Jewish historiography, reimagining fragmented Jewish female identity as interconnected across generations. Moreover, it offers a lens to understand the experiences of other women whose histories reveal the transformative power of female relationality in times of crisis.

Established in 1917, the Spiritual Society (Lingxuehui 灵学会) centered its activities on spirit-writing (fuji 扶乩), constructing a sacred discourse through the Spiritual Chronicles (Lingxue Congzhi 灵学丛志) that blended Confucian ethics, Buddhist–Daoist notions of reincarnation and karmic causality, and the terminologies of modern science. This synthesis aimed to restore moral order and epistemic legitimacy amid intense social upheaval. Beginning in 1918, however, New Youth—the flagship journal of the New Culture Movement—launched sustained critiques against Spiritualism (Lingxue 灵学). Moving beyond a historical narrative, this article draws on Weber, Foucault, and Abbott to analyze this confrontation as a contest for exclusive jurisdiction over “explaining the world” and “healing society.” New Culture intellectuals labeled fuji as “superstition” through the lenses of scientism and psychology, linking it to imperial residues and anti-modern ideologies. Scientific discourse, by deploying the label of “superstition”, secured epistemological orthodoxy and systematically marginalized indigenous spiritual traditions. The confrontation between the “divinity–medium–text” structure and the modern logic of “science–rationality–nation” reveals a deeper struggle over knowledge boundaries and legitimacy, while also illuminating the tensions and negotiations that shaped China’s trajectory toward modernity.

OUR GEOGRAPHIC TRUTH: MAKING LEMKOVYNA AND CARPATHIAN RUS’ IN DYMYTRII VYSLOTSKII’S TEXTS AND MAPSThis article analyzes the process of shaping the Lemko and Carpatho-Rusyn national space in the first half of the 20th century. It focuses on the political and journalistic activities of Dymytrii Vyslotskii and the Lemko Association of the USA and Canada. The study explores how visual elements in maps, as well as geographic and ethnographic arguments in press publications, were used to construct the image of Lemkovyna and Carpathian Rus’ as cohesive and distinct territorial units. The article also examines the evolution of the Lemko Association’s views on their homeland from a local idea of Lemko unity to a broader national project aligned with the Soviet Union. The analysis demonstrates that the spatial imaginations and political strategies of the Lemkos adapted to shifting geopolitical and social contexts. Although modern Carpatho-Rusyns no longer share the Russophile ideological framework of that era, the idea of a shared Carpatho-Rusyn identity articulated by Vyslotskii remains an important element of their historical and cultural narrative.

The concept of intelligence is deeply ambiguous and entangled with historical narratives of colonialism and eugenics. The contemporary understanding of intelligence still reflects such narratives: it is understood in human-centric terms, as a property defined by goal-oriented cognitive capacities. This leads to what we term a politics of control, which relies on historically established patterns of exclusion to establish political structures with colonial connotations. In response, this paper proposes an alternative framework called the Assemblage Theory of Intelligence (ATOI). ATOI understands intelligence in terms of the dynamic relationships and activities within an assemblage and moves us from a politics of control to a politics of configuration. We illustrate ATOI through a discussion of the human-in-the-loop (HITL) methodology in AI development. Contrary to the dominant narrative, where humans are seen as controlling the loop, we reconceive HITL as an assemblage where human and machine elements configure and mutually shape each other.

This article discusses how cookbooks can be used as primary sources and as a means to access themes important to U.S. history after the Second World War. The focus of the discussion is on “hidden history” and how these volumes can provide perspectives that are often excluded from mainstream historical narratives. Eight cookbooks are used to illustrate ideas related to race, gender, class, suburbanization, and immigration. Instructional and curriculum ideas are provided after the conclusion.

Semarang’s Old Town in cinematic spaces: historical and religious narratives in film

Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Mianning County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture between 2023 and 2024, this paper analyzes the “xiō bū” (ꑭꁮ) ritual of the Liangshan Yi people. Framed within contemporary approaches to religious anthropology and social memory theory, the study explores how this ritual constructs Yi ecological ethics, social integration, and cultural identity through nature worship, ancestral spirit beliefs, and ritual practices. The ethnographic evidence reveals that the “xiō bū” ritual, by designating wooded mountains as sacred space and performing sacrifices to nature deities and ancestral spirits, integrates “humans—nature—ancestors” into a symbiotic system of the “community of life.” This reflects the Yi people’s relational ontology and embedded ecological knowledge. The sacrificial offerings, shared meals, and purification practices in the ritual not only reinforce reverence for nature through symbolic acts but also unify the community through Durkheimian “collective effervescence,” thereby restoring the community’s spiritual order. As a carrier of social memory, the “xiō bū” ritual, through epic chanting, symbolic performances (such as clothing, ritual implements), and bodily practices (like the ritual specialist’s movements), embeds individual memories into the collective historical narrative of the group, dynamically constructing the cultural boundaries of the “Yi” people. The ritual specialists (Bimo or Suni), as intermediaries of knowledge and power, maintain religious authority through bricolage-like symbolic reorganization and foster the creative transformation of tradition in response to the challenges of modernity. The study further reveals that while the ritual faces challenges in the contemporary context, such as secularization and population mobility, it continues to activate ethnic identity by simplifying rituals, preserving core symbols, and coupling with ecological discourses, offering a model for the modern adaptation of traditional religions. This paper argues that ritual studies should engage with contemporary theoretical approaches like the ontological turn, focus on the agency of individuals, and reflect on the insights traditional knowledge systems offer in the face of globalization and ecological crises.

The aim of this research is to identify the artistic mechanisms through which Anchee Min’s prose reimagines the Chinese historical canon and actualizes the conflict of interpretations of the past within the space of cultural memory. The article analyzes the memoir “Red Azalea” (1994), as well as the historical novels “Becoming Madame Mao” (2001), “Empress Orchid” (2004), and “The Last Empress” (2007) from the perspective of their interaction with the historical narrative. The scientific novelty lies in the formulation and substantiation of a model for the simultaneous functioning of mythologization and demythologization in Anchee Min’s prose: it is demonstrated that their combination leads to the creation of a “fluid” image of the historical figure. The results reveal that the synthesis of memoir traditions and the historical novel serves as a unified strategy that shifts the macro-historical perspective into the lens of personal experience. Furthermore, the specific narrative organization of the texts facilitates the creation of complex and multifaceted historical characters and presents cultural memory as a process of continuous interpretations.

Background and Aims: Tantou woodblock New Year paintings, as an intangible cultural heritage of Shaoyang, China, encapsulate a rich blend of agricultural civilization, Chu witch culture, Meishan traditions, and classical Chinese philosophy. Under the challenge of modernization and cultural loss, this study aims to reveal the deeper symbolic logic and cultural mythologies embedded in Tantou paintings through Roland Barthes' semiotic theory, breaking through the limitations of traditional folk-art analysis. Methodology: This study adopts a semiotic framework, combining literature review, formal image analysis, and Barthes’ dual-layer symbol system—extension (language level) and connotation (myth level). By analyzing key motifs such as "Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong" and "The Mouse’s Wedding", the research decodes their image structures, symbolic composition, and ideological significance. Results: Findings demonstrate that Tantou paintings operate on multiple symbolic levels. At the extension layer, figures, animals, colors, and patterns form a coherent visual language system. At the connotation level, these elements metaphorically convey cultural values such as prosperity, fertility, humility, and divine authority. At the mythological level, they construct a worldview shaped by folk beliefs, survival ethics, and historical moral narratives, naturalizing ideologies within visual culture. Conclusion: Tantou New Year paintings are not only expressions of folk aesthetics but also symbolic carriers of regional belief systems and ethical values. Through semiotic deconstruction, this study establishes a new interpretive paradigm for folk art and demonstrates how image language bridges tradition and modernity, art and ideology, through layered meaning systems.

This article presents a critical construction of pedagogical thought. In Africa, there have been models of human formation, with reflections on the development of mentalities. History points to groups with complex socio-political systems, which, however, have been minimized by the hegemony of the narrator of history since then. These debates are some of those that may be of interest to local history, a critical area within the teaching of hegemonic social sciences.

ABSTRACT This study investigates the spatiotemporal characteristics and influencing factors of literati’s travels in the Ming Dynasty, by applying text mining and spatiotemporal analysis approaches. Drawing upon a dataset of 4,640 travel notes, the study reveals historical travel patterns, and explores how capability, coupling and authority constraints influenced the mobility of literati in the Ming Dynasty. The findings demonstrate a distinct spatial trajectory, shifting from an early focus on eastern regions to a westward expansion and eventual contraction in the later stages of the dynasty. By integrating historical travel narratives with contemporary analytical approaches, this study advances understanding of historical mobility through the analysis of literature and contributes to the history and geography of tourism in China.

Theroux dismantles the Nile's two dominant historical narratives: the ancient Egyptian synthesis of sacred geography and mythology, and the modernist narrative of technological progress and post-colonial development. This paper provides a critical intertextual analysis of Paul Therouxs Dark Star Safari, which contends that the travelogue represents a conscious and deliberate, even systematic, undertaking of literary disenchantment. Using a methodology of anti-itinerary, traveling upstream via dilapidated transport, Theroux overwrites these grand narratives with a "text of entropy" comprising observed decay, bureaucratic dysfunction, and human stories of disillusionment. The paper examines his symbolic inversion of sacred cartography, his forensic critique of monumental interventions such as the Aswan High Dam, and his use of anecdotal anti-heroic encounters for developing a "people's history". The paper further extends the analysis to an examination of how the complication introduced in the narrative by Therouxs critical nostalgia and self-implication positions him as an implicated witness rather than a detached observer. The paper concludes that Dark Star Safari is an essential and unsettling late-modern chapter in Nile literature, resistant to redemption or new myths but insistent on the ethical necessity of witnessing the river's present condition in all of its unresolved complexity, thus confronting any subsequent author with its stark record of a sacred text unraveled into the dust of contemporary reality.

This article is motivated by the dominance of historiographical narratives that interpret the Pemerintahan Revolusioner Republik Indonesia (PRRI, Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia) solely as a separatist rebellion, without taking into account the context of center–region inequality and the dynamics of regional nationalism in the post-independence period. The study aims to analyze the role of the Reuni Divisi Banteng (Banteng Division Reunion) in the formation of the Dewan Banteng (Banteng Council) as the embryo of PRRI in West Sumatra and to explain the political, social, and ideological motives underlying it. Using a historical method with a sociological–critical approach and library research, the study follows the stages of heuristics, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography, with its analysis supported by grievance theory and a center–region inequality framework. The findings show that the establishment of the Dewan Banteng was rooted in the structural marginalization of former Banteng Division fighters and development disparities concentrated in Java. PRRI emerged as an articulation of collective discontent over the neglect of demands for regional autonomy and equitable development, while also gaining broad support from civil society and nationalist leaders. The study argues that PRRI was an expression of regional nationalism with a corrective character toward the centralization of power, rather than an attempt to secede from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. The conclusion challenges the labeling of PRRI merely as a rebellion and underscores the need to reassess Indonesia’s political history narrative. The findings imply the importance of historiographical revision and the strengthening of decentralization as a form of justice, recognition of regional contributions, and consolidation of post-independence national integration.

The aim of this article is to present the role of the discovery of dicoumarol from the yellow sweet clover plant in the development of medicine, with particular emphasis on the work of Polish scientists in the years 1945–1960. The timeline covers a period of enormous development in both hematology and related sciences, as well as advanced research into the substance discovered in 1939. The article contains a historical introduction, essential for a logical scientific and historical narrative, and the main section, which presents the achievements of Polish scientists.