Edwelcomev6n1Jan2009 PORTAL Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies, vol. 6, no. 1, January 2009. ISSN: 1449-2490: http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/ojs/index.php/portal. ‘The Space Between: Languages, Translations and Cultures’: Special Issue edited by Vera Mackie, Ikuko Nakane, and Emi Otsuji. PORTAL is published under the auspices of UTSePress, Sydney, Australia. Editor’s Welcome to PORTAL, vol. 6, no. 1, 2009. ‘The Space Between: Languages, Translations and Cultures’ is a special issue of PORTAL Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies guest-edited by Vera Mackie (University of Melbourne), Ikuko Nakane (University of Melbourne), and Emi Otsuji (University of Technology, Sydney). As Vera Mackie and Stephanie Hemelryk Donald (University of Sydney) say in the introduction to the special issue: All of the contributors to this special issue have reflected on the stakes involved in negotiating differences in language and culture. In their research and professional practice they inhabit the ‘space between’: the space between languages, the space between cultures, and the space between academic disciplines. While many of our contributors are located in the Australian university system, we also have contributors from outside that system, as well as contributors who are theorising disparate sites for the negotiation of difference. The most exciting aspect of the papers presented here is the ability to move between the spheres of cultural theory and the everyday. Analytical techniques originally developed for literary and cultural analysis are brought to bear on the texts and practices of everyday life. In addition to the critical essays, three cultural works also intervene in the discussion over what it means to inhabit the ‘space between’ languages, cultures and countries. The guest editors and the PORTAL editorial committee would like to acknowledge and thank the following institutions and individual for the support that made this special issue possible: the Australian Research Council’s Cultural Research Network; the former Institute for International Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney; the School of Historical Studies at the University of Melbourne; and the ARC Cultural Literacies Node Convener, Mark Gibson. Allatson Editor’s Welcome PORTAL 6.1 (2009) PORTAL, vol. 6, no. 2, January 2009. 2 * * * I am delighted to announce that the January 2010 special issue of PORTAL Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies will be ‘Fields of Remembrance,’ guest edited by Matthew Graves (University of Provence, Aix-Marseille I) and Elizabeth Rechniewski (University of Sydney). The guest editors have provided the following description of the special issue’s scope. Fields of Remembrance special issue ‘En ces temps de débauche mémorielle, j’ai pensé qu’il était bon de revenir à des situations de base.’ Jean-Yves Potel, préambule, La Fin de l’Innocence: la Pologne face à son passé juif, Autrement édns, 2009. Across the world over the last 20-25 years nation-states have paid renewed attention to the observance of national days, and have undertaken campaigns of education, information, and even legislation, in order to enshrine the parameters of national remembering and therefore identity; while organisations and institutions of civil society and special interest groups have sought to draw the attention of their fellow citizens to their particular experiences, and perhaps gain national recognition for what they believe to have been long overlooked. Described by Pierre Nora as the ‘era of commemoration’ or by Jay Winter as the ‘memory boom,’ or, more polemically, as in the quote above, as débauche mémorielle or inflation mémorielle, these developments have been accompanied by a realignment of the status of history and memory. Memory may challenge official history; it may be brandished as a weapon in the quest for community identity, political rights, or financial compensation; it may be deployed as a tool of international diplomacy. It lays claim to the authenticity of lived experience and yet it calls on history for legitimacy. The historian is thus confronted with new responsibilities called upon by the victim, the journalist, the judge, and the legislator to pronounce on the validity of their claims. If there has been a world-wide turn to commemoration in recent years, there are nevertheless significant differences between countries in the relationship between memory and history and in the uses—and abuses—of memory. The articles in this issue will explore some of these particularities through the lens of a number of situations de base, concrete situations, that shed light not only on the policies and Allatson Editor’s Welcome PORTAL 6.1 (2009) PORTAL, vol. 6, no. 2, January 2009. 3 practices of particular countries but on the methodological and theoretical issues involved in studying transcultural remembrance. The issue will include articles by Robert Aldrich (‘Remembrances of Empires Past’), Matthew Graves (memory on the national periphery), Judith Keene (on cinema as prosthetic memory), George Parsons (on memories of the Somme), Lindi Todd (on the Truth and Reconcilation Commission in South Africa), and Elizabeth Rechniewski (‘Remembering the Battle for Australia’). * * * Finally, I would like to acknowledge the important contributions made to PORTAL by the many peer reviewers of articles submitted to the journal in the first five years since its inception in 2004. Deep gratitude therefore goes to the following people: Virgilio Almeida Timothy Amos Ien Ang Bill Ashcroft Rita Barnard Andrew Beattie Andrew Benjamin Linda Bennett Tim Bergfelder Ron Blaber Jean-Pierre Boulé Timothy Brennan Anne Brewster Jeffrey Browitt Craig Browne Ian Campbell James Cane-Carrasco Barry Carr Beatriz Carrillo Luciano Cheles Feng Chongyi Jon Cockburn Leanne Cutcher Bronwen Dalton Francesca Da Rimini Stephanie Hemelryk Donald Tanja Dreher Kuntala Dutt Louise Edwards Adriana Estill Helanor Feltham David William Foster Yvette Fuentes Edmund Fung Debjani Ganguly Mobo Gao Devleena Ghosh Heather Goodall David S. G. Goodman James Goodman Julián Graciano Matthew Gray Damian Grenfell Kiran Grewal Aleksandra Hadzelek Joe Hardwick Panos Hatziprokopiou Baogang He Adrian Hearn Anselm Heinrich Katherine Hepworth Winton Higgins Christina Ho Christine Inglis Robert McKee Irwin Helene Jaccomard Roslyn Jolly Amarjit Kaur Claire Kennedy Stewart King Shuyu Kong Sue Kossew Lars Kristensen Lily Lee Barbara Leigh Adam LeNevez Colin Lewis Xia Li Allatson Editor’s Welcome PORTAL 6.1 (2009) PORTAL, vol. 6, no. 2, January 2009. 4 Olga Lorenzo Yixü Lü Vera Mackie Kama Maclean Nicholas Manganas Lillian Manzor Jonathan Marshall Vicki Mayer Jo McCormack Anne McLaren Phil McManus Sandro Mezzadra Maja Mikula Keiko Morita Stephen Morris Stephen Muecke Stefan Mummert Ian Neary Brett Neilson Michael O’Brien Obododimma Oha Ricardo Ortiz Lyn Parker Joy Paton Raul Pertierra Duncan Petrie Leopold Podlashuc Murray Pratt Kalpana Ram Francesco Ricatti Eliana Rivero Rosemary Roberts Mina Roces Stuart Rosewarne Antonia Rubino Raúl Rubio Wendy Sargent Lyn Shoemark Frank Stilwell Gerry Turcotte Robert van Krieken Ilaria Vanni Silvia Vélez Yiyan Wang Virginia Watson Chris Worth Monica Wulff Marivic Wyndham Guoxin Xu Jingqing Yang Yi Zheng Paul Allatson, Editor, PORTAL Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies.