History Commons^™

City Of Felt And Concrete: Negotiating Cultural Hybridity In Mongolia's Capital Of Ulaanbaatar, Joshua Hagen, Alexander Diener

Joshua Hagen

Capital cities play an integral role in the construction of national identity. This is particularly true when the capital is the country's only major urban center. Over the course of its history, Mongolia's capital of Ulaanbaatar has been periodically reshaped to reflect competing trajectories of national culture. This article examines the evolving symbolism of architecture, urban design, and public space in Ulaanbaatar as a means of exploring Mongolia's complex negotiation between its traditional culture (mobile pastoralism and Shamanism/Buddhism), its socialist legacy, and globalization. Amidst the rampant social change of the last two decades, rather ambiguous national narratives have emerged in …

From Socialist To Post-Socialist Cities: Narrating The Nation Through Urban Space, Joshua Hagen, Alexander Diener

Joshua Hagen

The development of post-socialist cities has emerged as a major field of study among critical theorists from across the social sciences. Originally constructed under the dictates of central planners and designed to serve the demands of command economies, post-socialist urban centers currently develop at the nexus of varied and often competing economic, cultural, and political forces. Among these, nationalist aspirations, previously simmering beneath the official rhetoric of communist fraternity and veneer of architectural conformity, have emerged as dominant factors shaping the urban landscape. This article examines patterns, processes, and practices concerning the cultural politics of architecture, urban planning, and identity …

"Temple Pro Tempore": The Salt Lake City Endowment House, Lisle G. Brown

Lisle G Brown

The Salt Lake City Endowment House, built of adobe, was located on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. It served as a temporary temple during the construction of the Salt Lake Temple. It was completed in 1855 and razed in 1889. Using original floor plans, photographs, maps, and descriptions by persons who participated in its sacretodal activities, the author recreates its exterior and interior appearance. Floor plans and elevations of the building, prepared especially for the paper, are also included. The events leading to is destruction are chronicled. Finally, the author discusses the building’s influence on subsequent Mormon temple …

Rebuilding The Middle Ages After The Second World War: The Cultural Politics Of Reconstruction In Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber, Germany, Joshua Hagen

Joshua Hagen

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is one of Germany's most popular tourist destinations attracting over two and a half million visitors annually. Yet, many visitors do not realize that nearly half of Rothenburg's medieval architectural heritage was destroyed in 1945. Its reconstruction was characterized by complex negotiations and compromises as Rothenburgers attempted to balance contemporary preservation philosophies with the town's image as a national symbol and economic interests in a revived tourist trade. These diverse factors were generally complementary and resulted in a remarkably consistent and consensual effort, but the project was not without controversies and contradictions. This article examines the …

Unearthing St. Augustine's Colonial Heritage: An Interactive Digital Collection For The Nation's Oldest City, Thomas R. Caswell

Thomas Caswell

Staging Nationalism At The Crystal Palace: Prince Albert's "Model Dwelling House", Lauren L. Gallow

Lauren L. Gallow

At the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, British nationalism was staged both inside and outside the walls of the Crystal Palace. Inside, industrial products from around the world were put on display to celebrate the wonders of modern industry. Perhaps a more important purpose of the exhibition, however, was to establish British national pride through comparison to other nations. Britishness inside the Crystal Palace was defined by the nation’s primacy in industry—an identity that hinged on the exhibition of the commodity. Outside the Crystal Palace, a subset of this British identity was also being demonstrated. Near the southeast corner …

Artículo Político Campaña Electoral 2011, Pablo Rosser

pablo rosser

Artículo de opinión del autor, como miembro del PSOE en Alicante.

How Research Blogging Improves Urban History, Adam Arenson

Adam Arenson

This article explains why researchers should maintain a research blog for a project in development, especially if it is an urban-history or preservation issue.

Revealing Iberian Woodcraft: Conserved Wooden Artefacts From South-East Spain, Pablo Rosser

pablo rosser

Yolanda Carrion & Pablo Rosser Six wells at Tossal de les Basses in Spain captured a large assemblage of Iberian woodworking debris. The authors’ analysis distinguishes a wide variety of boxes, handles, staves, pegs and joinery made in different and appropriate types of wood, some – like cypress – imported from some distance away. We have here a glimpse of a sophisticated and little known industry of the fourth century BC.

Centum Homines: The Prototype Of The Alexander Mosaic And The Military Museum In The Hellenistic World, Peter Nulton

Peter E. Nulton Ph.D.

Although it is generally accepted that the Alexander Mosaic copies a painting of the 4th Century BCE, the attribution of this prototype has never been settled. Numerous attempts have been made to associate it with painters recorded in Pliny's Natural History, notably Philoxenos of Eretria, and Alexander's court painter, Apelles.

If the painting were the work of any artist whose name survives, as strong a case can be made for Aristeides of Thebes as for Apelles or Philoxenos. Since Pliny's comment that Aristeides painted a battle against the Persians follows his treatment of the works of Apelles, he is likely …

The Sanctuary Of Apollo Hypoakraios And Imperial Athens, Peter Nulton

Peter E. Nulton Ph.D.

The Cave Sanctuary of Apollo on the North Slope of the Acropolis at Athens was investigated in 1896-97 and produced a rich collection of inscriptions relating to the cult. These inscriptions are published in full for the first time in this work. The author discusses the history of the cult. Far from being of great antiquity as readers of Euripides' "Ion" have long assumed, the cult was instituted in the time of Augustus when "The Athenians thought it fitting that their archons swear an oath that upheld tradition in connection to Apollo Patroos, but simultaneously honored their 'new Apollo'", the …