The performativity of nonviolent protest in South Asia (1918 - 1948)

This study seeks to address a gap in the study of nonviolent action. The gap relates to the question of how nonviolence is performed, as opposed to the meaning or impact of nonviolent politics. The dissertation approaches the history of nonviolent protest in South Asia through the lens of performance studies. Such a shift allows for concepts such as performativity and theatricality to be tested in terms of their applicability and relevance to contemporary political and philosophical questions. It also allows for a different perspective on the historiography of nonviolent protest. Using concepts, modes of analysis and tropes of thinking from the emerging field of performance studies, the dissertation analyses two different cases of nonviolent protest, asking how politics is performatively constituted. The first two sections of this study set out the parameters of the key terms of the dissertation: nonviolence and performativity, by tracing their genealogies and legacies as terms. These histories are then located as an intersection in the founding of the nonviolent. The case studies at the analytical core of the dissertation are: fasting as a method in Gandhi's political arsenal, and the army of nonviolent soldiers in the North-West Frontier Province, known as the Khudai Khidmatgar. The study begins with an overview of current theorisations of nonviolence. The approach to the subject is through an investigation of commonly held misconceptions about nonviolent action, such as its supposed passivity, the absence of violence, its ineffectiveness and its spiritual basis. This section addresses the lacunae within existing theories of nonviolence and points to possible fertile spaces for further exploration. Section 3 offers an overview of the different shades of the concept of performativity, asking how it is used in various contexts and how these different nuances can be viewed in relation to each other. The dissertation explores how a theory of performativity may be correlated to the theorisation of nonviolence. The correlations are established in four boundary areas: action/inaction, violence/absence of violence, the actor/opponent and the body/spirit. These boundary areas allow for a theorising of nonviolent action as a performative process. The first case study is Gandhi's use of the fast as a method of nonviolent protest. Using a close reading of his own writings, speeches and letters, as well as a reading of responses to his fast in British newspapers and within India, the dissertation asks what made fasting into Gandhi's most favoured mode of protest and political action. The study reconstructs his unique praxis of the fast from a performative perspective, demonstrating how display and ostentation are vital to the political economy of the fast. It also unveils the cultural context and historical reservoir of body practices, which Gandhi drew from and adapted into 'weapons' of political action. The relationship of Gandhian nonviolence to the body forms a crucial part of the analysis. The second case study is the nonviolent army of the Pashtuns, Khudai Khidmatgar (KK), literally Servants of God. This anti-imperialist movement in the North-West Frontier Province of what is today the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan existed between 1929 and 1948. The movement adopted the organisational form of an army. It conducted protest activities against colonial rule, as well as social reform activities for the Pashtuns. This group was connected to the Congress party of Gandhi, but the dissertation argues that their conceptualisation and praxis of nonviolence emerged from a very different tradition and worldview. Following a brief introduction to the socio-political background of this Pashtun movement, the dissertation explores the activities that this nonviolent army engaged in, looking at their unique understanding of the militancy of an unarmed force, and their mode of combat and confrontation. Of particular interest to the analysis is the way the KK re-combined and mixed what appear to be contradictory ideologies and acts. In doing so, they reframed cultural and historical stereotypes of the Pashtuns as a martial race, juxtaposing the institutional form of the army with a nonviolent praxis based on Islamic principles and social reform. The example of the Khudai Khidmatgar is used to explore the idea that nonviolence is not the opposite of violent conflict, but in fact a dialectical engagement and response to violence. Section 5, in conclusion, returns to the boundary areas of nonviolence: action, violence, the opponent and the body, and re-visits these areas on a comparative note, bringing together elements from Gandhi's fasts and the practices of the KK. The similarities and differences in the two examples are assessed and contextualised in relation to the guiding question of this study, namely the question of the performativity of nonviolent action.

Catharine Waugh McCullouch papers in the Mary Earhart Dillon collection, 1869-1945

Collection primarily documents McCulloch's research on women's legal status, and her work with the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association, the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and the League of Women Voters. There is also documentation of women in the legal profession, of McCulloch's friendships with the other women suffragists and lawyers, and some biographical material. The papers contain little information about her family or social life.

Poor scholar; a study of the works and days of William Carleton, 1794-1869.

Mode of access: Internet.

Deliberation and journalism

The first chapter in 'International Journalism and Democracy' re-examines current ideas about the role of journalism in promoting democracy, introducing the concept of "deliberative journalism". 'Deliberation and Journalism' lists the ways in which journalists can assist deliberation and politics in communities around the world. The chapter defines deliberation as a specific form of conversation that precedes and promotes decision-making and action by members of a community. The author recognises the difficulty of engaging in deliberation in communities that are divided by different interests, identities, backgrounds, resources and needs. She provides examples of strategies that journalists can use to encourage inclusive and productive deliberation in the face of community diversity. The chapter introduces examples of types of deliberative journalism that have emerged around the globe. These include strategies that have been sometimes been labeled as public journalism, civic journalism, peace journalism, development journalism, citizen journalism, the street press, community journalism, environmental journalism, and social entrepreneurism. The chapter also includes models of journalism that have not yet been given any particular name. Although the book identifies problems surrounding the theory and practice of these forms of journalism, the author notes that this is to be expected. Most models of deliberative journalism are relatively new, with none being more than a few decades old. The author concludes that resolution of these problems will only occur incrementally.

Häiritsevän erilaiset : Työnvieroksunta Helsingissä 1946 - 1948

Tutkielma käsittelee viime sotien jälkeisiä sosiaalisia ongelmia niin sanotun pinnarilain kautta. Laki työtä vieroksuvien henkilöiden määräämisestä työhön tai erikoistyölaitokseen oli voimassa 1946–1948. Tutkielma selvittää, miten viranomaiset sovelsivat pinnarilakia Helsingissä ja avaa työnvieroksunta-käsitteen sisältöä ja määrittelyä. Tutkielman näkökulma pohjautuu kontekstikonstruktivismiin. Erilaisuuden ja sosiaalisten ongelmien määrittely on jatkuvan keskustelun ja kiistelyn alainen aihepiiri, sillä kyseisissä ilmiöissä ja niiden hallinnassa törmäävät erilaiset intressit ja tavoitteet. Sosiaalisen ongelman määrittely on tulosta aktiivisesta kollektiivisesta määrittelyprosessista, johon osallistuu useita toimijoita. Koska itse laki määritteli työnvieroksunta-käsitteen ja rajasi lain soveltamisalan hyvin väljästi, paikalliset viranomaiset saivat laajat toimintavaltuudet. Tämän vuoksi on tärkeä tutkia, millaiset henkilöt koettiin ongelmallisiksi, ”häiritsevän erilaisiksi”. Tärkein lähdemateriaali työssä on kunnallisen työasiainlautakunnan laatimat henkilöaktit työnvieroksujina käsitellyistä henkilöistä. Henkilöaktit sisältävät lautakunnan omien merkintöjen lisäksi poliisin huolto-osaston, huoltolautakunnan ja lääkäreiden asiakirjoja. Systemaattisen otannan avulla akteista on koottu noin 350 henkilöaktin otos. Nämä henkilöt on jaettu neljään ryhmään sen perusteella, mitkä syyt ovat johtaneet henkilön päätymiseen pinnarikäsittelyyn. Näin muodostuneen neljän ryhmän nimet ovat rikolliset, alkoholiongelmaiset, irtolaisnaiset ja ”kunnon kansalaiset”. Ryhmiä analysoidaan vertailun ja tilastollisten menetelmien avulla. Pinnarilaki oli yhtä aikaa työmarkkina-, sosiaali- ja kontrollipolitiikkaa. Sen soveltamisessa tulivat ilmi valtion työvoimapoliittiset intressit jälleenrakentavassa ja työvoimapulasta kärsivässä maassa. Työnvieroksujien joukkoon päätyi niin yhteiskunnan syrjässä roikkuvia moniongelmaisia kuin työkyvyttömyydestä tai työn puutteesta kärsiviä tavallisia kansalaisia. Pinnarilaki sai sovellettaessa ”kaatoluokka”-luonteen: sen avulla viranomaisten kynnys puuttua epäilyttävinä pitämiensä henkilöiden elämään madaltui, sillä esimerkiksi alkoholisti- ja irtolaislainsäädännön soveltamisala oli rajatumpi. Sotatoimien päätyttyä viranomaiset kävivät taistoon yhteiskunnan sisäisiä vihollisia, kohonnutta rikollisuutta, muuttuneita moraalikäsityksiä ja lisääntynyttä päihteidenkäyttöä, vastaan. Tässä taistelussa pinnarilaki oli viranomaisten tärkein ase ja kontrollikeino.

Meeting of the Joint Distribution Committee and the Executive Committee of the American Jewish Relief Committee 1918 in New York

Reproduction of a painting of a meeting of the Joint Distribution Committee (representing the American Jewish Relief Committee, the Central Rellief Committee and the People's Relief Committee) and the Executive Committee of the American Jewish Relief Committee, with chairman Felix Warburg, secretary Albert Lucas, stenographer Mrs. F. Friedman, executive director Boris Bogen, comptroller Harriet Lowenstein, associate treasurer Paul Baerwald and treasurer Arthur Lehman; Office of Mr. Felix M. Warburg, 52 William Street, New York

Briske Family Collection 1888-1948

26 vital documents for Rudolf Eduard Briske (birth, marriage military, etc.); 30 vital documents of ascendants of Rudolf Eduard Briske; 10 vital documents for relatives of Rudolf Eduard Briske; 4 photos of tombstones; one photo of Hans Briske.

[Gedichte von Else Bergmann] 1930-1948

Photocopies of poems

Selma's saga [1916-1948]

The memoirs were written in 1982 in Sydney, Australia and include excerpts of letters from various relatives during the years 1938-1941. Early childhood recollections of World War One. The family was living in the 6th district of Vienna. Description of domestic life with maids, laundresses and a French governess. Death of her mother in 1918. Trip with her stepmother Ida Plohn to Prague. Recollections of a stay in the countryside at their maid's family, where Selma and her older sister Martha awaited the birth of their younger sister Trude. Memories of Christmas celebrations. Summer vacations in the mountains. Description of the extended family. Inflation and economic depression in the 1920s. Strict upbringing by her stepmother. Children recreation trip to Grado, Italy in 1925. Selma was accepted at the "Bundeserziehungsanstalt" for gifted students. Only few fellow Jewish students. Religious education with beloved rabbi Diamant. Recovery from tonsilitis in a senatorium in Aflenz, Austria. Celebration of Jewish holidays and visits at the Synagogue on Yom Kippur. Transfer to Realschule. Due to a sudden onset of various illnesses Selma was unable to continue school and had put an end to her father's dream of an university education for her. Difficult to find a position in the depression times of the early 1930s. Only few working options for a Jewish woman. Position as a secretary in a Jewish firm. Outings in the Vienna Woods. Membership in the Zionist group Betar.

Lucien Wolf and David Mowshowitch papers, [ca. 1869-1959]

Correspondence, reports, minutes, manuscripts, and clippings relating to the activities of Wolf, Mowshowitch, and the Joint Foreign Committee, as well as to the political situation of Jews in various countries and to the Paris Peace Conference. Papers of Lucien Wolf include his diary, lectures on English-German relations and English-Russian relations; bibliography of Wolf's works on Jewish themes; clippings of Wolf's articles; congratulations on his seventieth birthday; article on his last interview with Chamberlain; and correspondence with parents, 1869-1882, A. Abrahams, 1914-1925, Chief Rabbi Dr. J.H. Hertz, 1892-1923, Clara Melchior, 1913-1929, Jacob Schiff, 1910, Maxim Vinawer, 1917, Mark Wischnitzer, 1926-1928, Lord Robert Cecil, 1916-1919, Lord Rothschild, 1906, Cyrus Adler, Count J. Bernstorff, Szymon Ashkenazy, Solomon Dingol, Louis Marshall, Claude G. Montefiore, Sir Edward Sassoon, Jacob Schiff, Lord William Selborne, Nakhum Sokolow, Oscar Straus, Chaim Weizmann, the American Jewish Congress, 1916-1923, Hilfsverein der Deutschen Juden, 1913, and Jewish Historical Society of England.

Uriah P. Levy collection undated, 1787-1948, 1959, 1961, 1985, 2005.

Contains the notebook and correspondence of Abram Kanof relating to the naval career and activities of Uriah P. Levy; the correspondence, memoranda, newspaper clippings, and a manuscript paper of Isaac Markens pertaining to the alleged claim that Levy was instrumental in abolishing flogging in the Navy; personal documents including a letter to Captain E.A.F. Lavalette concerning the behavior of officers under Levy's command as commodore of the Mediterranean fleet (1859), a photostatic copy of his will and the inventory of his estate (1862), and published material by and about Uriah Phillips Levy including a bound typewritten copy of "Record of Naval Court of Inquiry, 1857;" An essay on flogging in the Navy, 1849; Memorial of Uriah P. Levy, ... 1855; an original copy of a Manual of rules for men-of-war by Captain U.P. Levy, 1862; and Monticello and its preservation, since Jefferson's death, 1862-1902, by George Alfred Townsend. Also contains the halitza of Virginia Lopez Levy, widow of Uriah P. Levy, 1866, signed by J.J. Lyons; copies of letters of Michael Levy to Henry Deering and Dudley Woolridge, 1787-1788, and a published copy of The defense of Captain Jonas P. Levy. Gift, in part, of the Elsie O. and Philip D. Sang Foundation, 1979 and of Herman Herst, Jr., 1987.

Suomi ja Euroopan kirkollinen jälleenrakentaminen 1945-1948

The international aid that the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland received between 1945 and 1948 is the topic of this historical study, in which the process of reconstruction of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is examined in a European context. The key questions are related not only to the achievements of the reconstruction programs but also to the purposes and objectives of the donating churches. The study pays particular attention to the changes in the ecclesiastical, political and economic fields after the Second World War and asks how the tense political atmosphere of a divided world affected the reconstruction programs of the churches. It is possible to distinguish three periods within the European church reconstruction process. To begin with, the year 1945 was, in general, the year of organization. Many churches had started planning reconstruction work already during the war, but only after the conflict in Europe had ceased did they have a chance to renew contacts, assess the damage and begin operations. The years 1946 and 1947 were the main years of the work. Large reconstruction organizations from American churches donated money, food, clothes and vitamins worth millions of dollars to the European churches. The work started to diminish as early as 1948, partly because Marshall Plan aid and the rising standard of living had reduced the need for material assistance in many countries and partly because other problems overshadowed the reconstruction work of the World Council of Churches: for example, most WCC resources at this time were directed to refugee programs and to Third World churhces. The most important donors from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland's point of view were the American Section of the Lutheran World Federation, the World Council of Churches and the Churches of Denmark, Sweden and England. The amount of money and value of goods received by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland totaled approximately 2.5 million dollars, from which about 60 per cent came from the Lutheran churches of America. The importance of the Lutheran World Federation was even greater because of the productive financial arrangements that increased the American Lutheran funds. In addition the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland imported hundreds of tons of tax-free coffee and sold this to Finns. The money gained was used mostly to rebuild destroyed church buildings and to support the work of different ecclesiastical organizations. Smaller amounts were used for scholarship programs, youth work, and supporting sick and disabled church workers.