Territory and the governmentalisation of social reproduction: parliamentary enclosure and spatial rationalities in the transition from feudalism to capitalism

Recent applications of Foucauldian categories in geography, spatial history and the history of town planning have opened up interesting new perspectives, with respect to both the evolution of spatial knowledge and the genealogy of territorial techniques and their relation to larger socio-political projects, that would be enriched if combined with other discursive traditions. This article proposes to conceptualise English parliamentary enclosureea favourite episode for Marxist historiography, frequently read in a strictly materialist fashioneas a precedent of a new form of sociospatial governmentality, a political technology that inaugurates a strategic manipulation of territory for social change on the threshold between feudal and capitalist spatial rationalities. I analyse the sociospatial dimensions of parliamentary enclosure’s technical and legal innovations and compare them to the forms of communal self-regulation of land use customs and everyday regionalisations that preceded it. Through a systematic, replicable mechanism of reterritorialisation, enclosure acts normalised spatial regulations, blurred regional differences in the social organisation of agriculture and erased the modes of autonomous social reproduction linked to common land. Their exercise of dispossession of material resources, social capital and community representations is interpreted therefore as an inaugural logic that would pervade the emergent spatial rationality later known as planning.

Territory and the governmentalisation of social reproduction: parliamentary enclosure and spatial rationalities in the transition from feudalism to capitalism

Recent applications of Foucauldian categories in geography, spatial history and the history of town planning have opened up interesting new perspectives, with respect to both the evolution of spatial knowledge and the genealogy of territorial techniques and their relation to larger socio-political projects, that would be enriched if combined with other discursive traditions. This article proposes to conceptualise English parliamentary enclosureea favourite episode for Marxist historiography, frequently read in a strictly materialist fashioneas a precedent of a new form of sociospatial governmentality, a political technology that inaugurates a strategic manipulation of territory for social change on the threshold between feudal and capitalist spatial rationalities. I analyse the sociospatial dimensions of parliamentary enclosure’s technical and legal innovations and compare them to the forms of communal self-regulation of land use customs and everyday regionalisations that preceded it. Through a systematic, replicable mechanism of reterritorialisation, enclosure acts normalised spatial regulations, blurred regional differences in the social organisation of agriculture and erased the modes of autonomous social reproduction linked to common land. Their exercise of dispossession of material resources, social capital and community representations is interpreted therefore as an inaugural logic that would pervade the emergent spatial rationality later known as planning.

The seigneurs of old Canada : a chronicle of New world feudalism /

"Bibliographical note": p. 151-152.

Our benevolent feudalism,

"The germ of this book was contained in an article published in the Independent, April 3, 1902." - Pref.

Elizabeth Mowbray, or, The horrors of feudalism : a drama in two acts /

Includes "Original cast of characters."

Romanssien ja runouden aikakausi. Thomas Warton keskiaikaa määrittelemässä 1750–1790

Tutkimukseni käsittelee keskiajan nousua historian tärkeäksi periodiksi 1700-luvun Englannissa näkökulmanaan Thomas Wartonin (1726–1790) kirjoitukset. Warton oli Oxfordin yliopistossa toiminut oppinut antikvaari. Wartonin pääteos History of English Poetry (1774–1781) ei nimestään huolimatta ollut moderni kirjallisuushistoria vaan 1000–1500-luvun kirjoitettua kulttuuria laajasti käsitellyt vernakulaariin kirjallisuuteen pohjautunut esitys. Warton ja hänen lähipiiriinsä kuuluneet tutkijat tarjoavat erityisen mahdollisuuden tarkastella, miten käsitys keskiajasta omana aikakautenaanmuodostui 1700-luvun lopulla. Tutkin Wartonin ja hänen aikalaistensa toisen vuosituhannen alusta kirjoittamia arvioita Michel de Certeaun historiografisen operaation käsitteen avulla. Se koostuu kolmesta vaiheesta: Alue määrittelee sosiaaliset riippuvuussuhteet ja vaikuttimet, jotka ohjaavat tutkimusta. Käytäntö viittaa siihen, miten historioitsija valitsee materiaalinsa ja muokkaa siitä historiankirjoituksena hahmottuvan kokonaisuuden. Lopuksi kirjoitus konkreettisena ja fyysisenä ilmiönä luo illuusion lopullisuudesta ja huonosti sopivien osien yhteenkuuluvuudesta. de Certeaun teoria soveltuu paremmin vanhemman historiankirjoituksen ja oppineisuuden tarkasteluun kuin historiantutkimuksen narratiiveja analysoivat teokset, koska se kontekstualisoi laajemmin historiankirjoitukseen vaikuttavat ilmiöt. Thomas Warton ja muut 1700-luvun puolivälin oppineet määrittelivät keskiajan fiktiivisten tekstien avulla. Warton tutustui tarkasti romansseihin ja kronikoihin. Erityisen suuri merkitys keskiajan hahmottamisen kannalta oli Geoffrey Monmouthilaisen kronikalla Historia regum britanniae, joka esitteli Englannin myyttisen varhaisen historian yhdistämällä Rooman ja oman kansallisen perinteen. Geoffreyn kronikan avulla Warton huomasi keskiaikaisten tarinoiden laajan vaikutuksen; hän kirjoitti erityisesti kuningas Arthuriin liittyneiden kertomusten merkityksestä, joka jatkui aina 1500-luvulle asti. Näin Warton löysi antiikin perinteelle haastajan keskiaikaisesta kulttuurista. Wartonin tapa esitellä keskiaikaa perustui osittain valistusajan sulavasti kirjoitetuille universaalihistorioille, osittain oppineelle luettelomaiselle esitystavalle. Käytännössä Wartonin pitkät johdantotutkielmat kuitenkin johdattavat lukijaa keskeisiin teemoihin. Niitä ovat mielikuvituksen väheneminen uusimmassa kirjallisuudessa ja toisaalta hienostuneisuuden ja tiedon kasvu. Warton ei missään vaiheessa kerro, liittyvätkö nämä teemat yhteen, mutta tulkintani mukaan ne liittyivät. Warton ajatteli kirjallisuuden menettäneen olennaisen mielikuvituksen samaan aikaan, kun yhteiskunta oli kehittynyt. Tämä auttaa hahmottamaan koko kirjallisuuden historiaa: Warton etsi alkuperäistä mielikuvitusta niin antiikin Kreikasta, Orientista kuin muinaisesta Skandinaviasta. History of English Poetry ei pohtinut vain kirjallisuuden ja yhteiskunnan suhdetta, sillä Warton ajatteli voivansa tutkia keskiajan yhteiskuntaa kronikoiden ja romanssien avulla. Hänen käsityksensä feodalismista, hovien elämästä ja keskiaikaisista tavoista perustuivat niihin. Warton ei huomannut, että hänen käyttämänsä lähteet olivat tietoisia kirjallisia konstruktioita vaan hän piti niitä totuudenmukaisina kuvauksina. Toisaalta Wartonin tulkintaan heijastuivat myös 1700-luvun käsitykset yhteiskunnasta. Keskiajan lähteiden kuvaukset ja 1700-luvun ideaalit vaikuttivat lopulta siihen, millaiseksi populaari kuva keskiajasta kehittyi.

Collective violence : a study of the gendered and socio-economic factors behind early modern Italian and English witch hunts

In this study, I build upon my previous research in which I focus on religious doctrine as a gendered disciplinary apparatus, and examine the witch trials in early modem England and Italy in light of socio-economic issues relating to gender and class. This project examines the witch hunts/trials and early modem visual representations of witches, and what I suggest is an attempt to create docile bodies out of members of society who are deemed unruly, problematic and otherwise 'undesirable'; it is the witch's body that is deemed counternormative. This study demonstrates that it is neighbours and other acquaintances of accused witches that take on the role of the invisible guard of Bantham's Panoptic on. As someone who is trained in the study of English literature and literary theory, my approach is one that is informed by this methodology. It is my specialization in early modem British literature that first exposed me to witch-hunting manuals and tales of the supernatural, and it is for this reason that my research commences with a study of representations of witches and witchcraft in early modem England. From my initial exposure to such materials I proceed to examine the similarities and the differences of the cultural significance of the supernatural vis-a.-vis women's activities in early modem Italy. The subsequent discussion of visual representations of witches involves a predominance of Germanic artists, as the seminal work on the discernment of witches and the application of punishment known as the Malleus Meleficarum, was written in Germany circa 1486. Textual accounts of witch trials such as: "A Pitiless Mother (1616)," "The Wonderful Discovery of the Witchcrafts of Margaret and Philippa Flower (1619)," "Magic and Poison: The Trial ofChiaretta and Fedele (circa 1550)", and the "The Case of Benvegnuda Pincinella: Medicine Woman or Witch (1518),"and witchhunting manuals such as the Malleus Melejicarum and Strix will be put in direct dialogue with visual representations of witches in light of historical discourses pertaining to gender performance and gendered expectations. Issues relating to class will be examined as they pertain to the material conditions of presumed witches. The dominant group in any temporal or geographic location possesses the tools of representation. Therefore, it is not surprising that the physical characteristics, sexual habits and social material conditions that are attributed to suspected witches are attributes that can be deemed deviant by the ruling class. The research will juxtapose the social material conditions of suspected witches with the guilt, anxiety, and projection of fear that the dominant groups experienced in light of the changing economic landscape of the Renaissance. The shift from feudalism to primitive accumulation, and capitalism saw a rise in people living in poverty and therefore an increased dependence upon the good will of others. I will discuss the social material conditions of accused witches as informed by what Robyn Wiegman terms a "minoritizing discourse" (210). People of higher economic standing often blamed their social, medical, and/or economic difficulties on the less fortunate, resulting in accusations of witchcraft.

A traição na canção de Gesta Renaut de Montauban: herança neotestamentária, ética cavaleiresca e evolução política na França do século XIII

Pós-graduação em História - FCLAS

Os modos contemporâneos de gestão do espaço urbano e a invenção de si

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A questão do Feudalismo no Brasil: um debate político

In this article, we examine the procedure of Brazilian historiography about the debate between Caio Prado Jr. and the Brazilian Communist Party, especially with regard to the relationships of feudal or semi-feudal nature. The historiography put them on opposite sides, considering the intellectual from Sao Paulo from a positive outlook, while the Communist Party is considered from a negative one. However, although distinct, their interpretations of the history of the Brazil make them close in regards to the question of socialism, in that they postpone it to the remote future. Thus, by adopting the procedure of the opposition between both, the historiography fails to consider what really distinguished them.

Duby: uma perspectiva histórica sobre as mulheres medievais

This paper will discuss the wedding in the historical conditions of feudalism, and mainly, summarize partially the book Heloise and Isolde and other ladies of the twelfth century, in which the author provided an historical condition significant, exploring of an original manner the documents known. Then we will see as important medievalists have studied the issues addressed by Duby as kinship, sexuality, male and female, and that were the object of our work, serving as a counterpoint to them.

Aportes teóricos sobre el rol de la propiedad comunal en la transición al capitalismo

En el presente trabajo se propone un abordaje del rol de la propiedad comunal en la transición del feudalismo al capitalismo europeo a partir de la dinámica de desestructuración del modo de producción dominante. Partimos de la idea que la transición no implica la eliminación de los elementos que componen el modo de producción anterior, sino su permanencia y aún su fortalecimiento sobre bases modificadas. Este es el caso de la pervivencia de las formas campesinas de producción, dentro de las cuales la propiedad colectiva es una de sus bases de sostenimiento material más importantes. Sin embargo, este proceso es complejo y no está excento de ambigüedades. La corrupción interna de la comunidad aldeana, con la consiguiente proletarización parcial de su mano de obra se halla en estrecha relación con la ofensiva sobre los campos comunes. Sin embargo, en el período estudiado, el fenómeno no es absoluto, ya que al mismo tiempo que se da una progresiva pérdida de tierras por parte de los productores aldeanos, se refuerzan las relaciones feudales dentro de las cuales se ponen en explotación los suelos. Las contradicciones del desarrollo histórico obliga al historiador a una aproximación dialéctica que dé cuenta de esta particularidad. El diálogo crítico con los aportes teóricos de la sociología agraria y de la antropología rural sirven de estímulo para esta contribución.

Programas políticos y bienes y usos comunales en Lorena durante la Revolución Francesa

La historiografía inglesa ha ahondado en el estudio de los bienes y usos comunales con el propósito de comprender el rol que jugó la transformación de los mismos en la transición del feudalismo al capitalismo. No obstante, su contraparte francesa ha tendido a relegar este tipo de estudios a un segundo plano, sobre todo en lo que a los usos comunales respecta. De hecho, en los últimos veinte años se ha postulado la necesidad de estudiar a los bienes y usos comunales por separado, compartimentando el análisis histórico. El presente trabajo parte de un estudio de caso centrado en la región de Lorena, y pretende analizar el rol jugado por las luchas en torno a los bienes y usos comunales durante el período revolucionario en la transición del feudalismo al capitalismo. Sugerimos que en Lorena el conflicto por los bienes comunales estimuló, al transformar la base material de producción, disputas más amplias en torno a las prácticas rurales que fueron redefiniendo la apropiación de la renta rural, beneficiando a los sectores que producían con mano de obra asalariada

Cercamientos y derechos comunales en la Inglaterra del siglo XIII : Un abordaje historiográfico en torno al Estatuto de Merton (1236)

El siguiente trabajo intenta un abordaje general de las diversas interpretaciones relativas a un documento del siglo XIII, el Estatuto de Merton (1236). El contexto que preside este abordaje fueron las transformaciones del sistema económico feudal y, en sus aspectos específicos, apunta a reconsiderar el proceso de cercamiento en la Inglaterra de aquel siglo. A pesar de que muchas investigaciones planteen el origen de las enclosures en los siglos XV y XVI, el Estatuto estaría atestiguando su presencia anterior. El presente trabajo procura reflexionar sobre las producciones historiográficas que se han realizado en relación al tema. El estudio de este notable documento adquiere importancia para analizar los antecedentes de la transición del feudalismo al capitalismo