Contenu du sommaire

The Historian and the Current Rediscovery of Festivity. The author examines the reasons underlying the recend rediscovery of festive celebration as both a collective social need and an object of historical study. Can the historian be of any use to today's social worker or community leader in their search for models and references ? While perhaps not, such dialogue is useful, serving to clarify the issue at hand.

Festivity and Commemoration in «Military Vendée» (1814-1914). The commemoration of the war of Vendée (1793) is specific to armorican regions south of the Loire. The author develops a typology of vendean feast days during the Restauration, analyses their pereniality and evolution following this period, and considers the degree of popular participation in these celebrations.

Festivity and Cultural Animation in the Country : the Case of a Champenois Village. Rural social and cultural life has greatly changed, breaking with its traditions and frequently patterning itself upon urban models. Certain villages however, such as the example analysed here, attempt to reestablish links with their past through modem day means of expression. The cultural aspirations of rural dwellers and the renewed emphasis given to festive celebration in the rural milieu raises the question of the latter's autonomy with respect to the search for new cultural experiences. The limits of community organisation (animation) as currently practiced are examined in this light.

The Conditions and Means of Cultural Development in Rural Areas : the Case of Poitou-Charentes. An initiative undertaken in the Poitou-Charentes region sheds light upon general problems of cultural development in rural areas.

Family, the Peasant Household^ Land and People Mobility in Thimerais during the 18th Century. Family structure and peasant household patterns in Thimerais during the 18th century are influenced by an egalitarian system of succession that encourages mobility. An early breaking up of the family and the consequent geographical dispersion of kin, especially prevalent among day labourers, does not eliminate family cohesion which may take the form of household co-residence. However, it is only among certain elements of the middle peasantry that kin- based mutual aide and associative practices can be observed, this being due to a greater degree of local rootedness and the presence of peasant land ownership.

The Structure and Evolution of Rural Populations at the Sub-Parochial Level : Post-War Evidence from Normandy, France. The paper examines three types of settlement at sub-parochial level (village-centres, hamlets and farms) with respect to possible differences between these settlements in population structures, in migration and in fertility and mortality. Analysis is made of all demographic events in three parishes of Southern Normandy for the period 1946-1975 using a variety of unpublished documents. It is found that population structures and paths of evolution vary markedly between different types of settlement. The explanation of these variations lies largely in the social composition of the settlements. It is shown that aggregate measures of rural depopulation can mask profoundly different courses of population change at the sub-parochial level.

Agricultural Policies in Latin America since 1960. The author summarizes the major tendencies of agricultural transformation in Latin America since 1960. Land reform (Alliance for Progress) and counter-reform movements (as in the case of Chili or Brazil), as well as efforts to modernize agriculture (Equador, Mexico, etc.) are considered. An evaluation of the failure of these different policies demonstrates the necessity for an alternative approach centered upon the farmers themselves.

The Development of Polish Anthropology. The author traces the development of anthropology in Poland from its beginnings linked to the growth of polish romanticism following the 1830 insurrection, to the emergence of a new shool of thought in 1973-1976 in reaction to the sterility of official research during the staliniste period.