Thomas K. Park

Pyrrhonism in Anthropological and Historical Research

Scepticism has fairly consistently had a bad press from those in a position of authority. The usual reasons for its disrepute are not themselves particularly reputable. They generally include at least the following claims: scepticism is a negative philosophy and hence incapable of making positive contributions to humanity, science, or religion; sceptics are nihilists who wreak havoc on social structure, science, and religion; and, though scepticism can on occasion be beneficial, the idea that we do not know anything is preposterous. These attitudes are widespread in the general populace but less common in the scientific community, where various ideas such as Heisenbergs uncertainty principle or Einsteins theory of relativity have made scepticism more acceptable. Although the usual reasons listed above might be remotely accurate representations of dogmatic scepticism, they completely misrepresent Pyrrhonic scepticism, that form of scepticism which has had most influence on Western civilization. 1 The position taken here is that Pyrrhonic scepticism need not be considered primarily a philosophical position. Historically, it was set forth as a philosophical position but only because philosophy once encompassed all of humanitys attempts to arrive at knowledge. Today, when science has primary claim to including under its roof most of our attempts to wrest knowledge from the world, Pyrrhonic scepticism is more approppriately viewed as a scientific position having general implications for scientific research.

A Report on the State of the Moroccan Archives

A gradual transformation is taking place in Morocco in the ease with which it is possible to have access to archives. In a year and a half in Morocco my research in the archives both of Rabat and of the town of Essaouira was expedited by the administrators and ministries responsible in a way that approached what is current in England, for example. Those who have done archival research in Morocco will recognize the significance of such a change. This report begins with a discussion of living accommodations in Morocco that may be of interest to those wishing to do research in the archives. Following this section I have tried to set out, first, the types of archives to be found, as well as their accessibility, and, second, the sorts of archival material likely to be found in each archive. Finally, I have appended a few suggestions about getting permission to do research in these archives. I can speak with accuracy for Rabat and Essaouira and, though it may be unwise to say they are representative of large and small towns, at least the two examples may be of some general significance. Those who can afford to stay at the Rabat Hilton may skip this section because it is targeted to those who cannot or would prefer not to spend that much money. A fairly inexpensive hotel, yet one that a North American would feel comfortable in, is fairly easy to find in most of the major cities or towns of Morocco. These would run about

Social Transformations and West African Forms of Slavery

20 to

Historical dictionary of Morocco

30 a night for two people. In Rabat two possibilities are: BELERE (33, Av. Moulay Youssef) and LES OUDAYAS (4, Rue Tobrouk). Both are within an easy walk of the Royal Archives and the Archives of the Bibliotheque Generale.

Early Trends toward Class Stratification: Chaos, Common Property, and Flood Recession Agriculture

In Benedetta Rossi’s Reconfiguring Slavery: West African Trajectories, “trajectories” reconfiguring slavery refers to the ways in which traditional forms of slavery have left their imprint on the present and does not include completely new forms of subjugation, exploitation, or enslavement, such as child labor, prostitution, elite capture, or international domination by states or corporations. This stimulating collection for West African scholars provides an abundance of examples of the transformations in traditional forms of slavery covering the range of possibilities, from formerly subjugated groups that now have the upper hand over their former masters to situations where traditional forms of symbolic and financial domination still prevail. Rossi defines the book’s focus as categorical slavery in contradistinction to metaphorical slavery, the latter being the extension of the general idea of a hierarchical and exploitative relation to other situations lacking any historical roots in traditional categories of master and slave. Nevertheless, one chapter (by Alice Bellagamba) provides an interesting look at modern metaphors of slavery (e.g., a discourse on civil servants as slaves in the Gambia) and another (by Tom McCaskie) deals with African American claims to pan-African cultural ties to the Egyptian concept of Maat. Reconfiguring Slavery has an introduction and chapter by Rossi, as well as chapters by eight other authors: Martin A. Klein, McCaskie, Bellagamba, Jean Schmitz, Christine Hardung, Olivier Leservoisier, Eric Hahonou, and Philip Burnham. It examines historical trajectories in West Africa in general (Klein), Ghana (McCaskie), Gambia (Bellagamba), the Senegal River Valley and Dakar (Schmitz), Benin (Hardung), Mauritania Halpulaaren society (Leservoisier), Niger and Benin (Hohonou), Niger (Rossi), and Cameroon and Trinidad (Burnham). Rossi notes that slavery is both many things to many people and problematic to define, yet she opts, nevertheless, for a definition based on the lowest common denominator: “Slavery refers to the individual or communal ownership of an-

Risk and tenure in arid lands: the political ecology of development in the Senegal river basin.

Part 1 List of Tables Part 2 List of Figures Part 3 Editors Foreword Part 4 Preface Part 5 Acknowledgments Part 6 Note on Transliteration Part 7 Acronyms and Abbreviations Part 8 Maps Part 9 Chronology Part 10 Introduction Part 11 THE DICTIONARY Part 12 Appendix Part 13 Glossary Part 14 Bibliography Part 15 About the Authors