Society and culture: general Books

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisOver most of the course of an award-laden 10-years in Journalism, David Hundeyin has dedicated himself to telling Nigeria''s most forbidden stories in a uniquely ferocious voice that has earned him a huge following and a long list of powerful enemies. This 1-man mission to peel back decades of necrosis in Nigerian journalism has made him contemporary Nigeria''s most recognisable journalist as well as one of its most controversial personalities.

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Book SynopsisRefugees. Border protection. Ethnic gangs. Terrorism. History wars. Pauline Hanson. Australia''s faith in multiculturalism has been shaken by fierce attacks from its enemies and a sense of crisis among its friends. Multiculturalism has become a political tool to win votes and generate community anxiety. What is left of the multicultural ideal?Bob Hodge and John O''Carroll take the pulse of multicultural Australia in the wake of September 11. They investigate the hot spots'' of multiculturalism, showing how they cluster around fiercely defended boundaries and borders, both literal and symbolic. They tackle the issues of racism past and present, and show how injustice impacts on many communities in Australia, including Aboriginals as well as more recent migrant groups.The authors argue that despite appearances, multiculturalism is alive and well in Australia, and a commitment to tolerance and diversity characterises daily life. In fact, Australia''s multiculture is the best kind of borderwork against terrorism, racism and injustice. A timely, original and optimistic discussion of Australia''s multicultural past and our possible futures.''Graeme Turner, Director, Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies, University of Queensland This clearly written book shines a welcome light on the fog of critique of Australian multiculturalism from both the Right and the Left.'' Jock Collins, Professor of Economics, University of Technology Sydney

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Book SynopsisThe Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian Hindu text written by Vatsyayana. It is widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behaviour in Sanskrit literature. A portion of the work consists of practical advice on sexual intercourse. "Kama" which is one of the four goals of Hindu life, means desire including sexual desire the latter being the subject of the textbook, and "sutra" literally means a thread or line that holds things together, and more metaphorically refers to a formula in the form of a manual.Contrary to western popular perception, the Kama Sutra is not exclusively a sex manual; it presents itself as a guide to a virtuous and gracious living that discusses the nature of love, family life and other aspects pertaining to pleasure oriented faculties of human life. Kama Sutra, in parts of the world, is presumed or depicted as a synonym for creative sexual positions. Much of the book is about the philosophy and theory of love, what triggers desire, what sustains it, and how and when it is good or bad.This case laminate collector''s edition includes a Victorian inspired dust-jacket. 

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Book SynopsisToday, when it seems like everything has been privatized, when austerity is too often seen as an economic or political problem that can be solved through better policy, and when the idea of moral values has been commandeered by the right, how can we re-imagine the forces used as weapons against community, solidarity, ecology and life itself? In this stirring call to arms, Max Haiven argues that capitalism has colonized how we all imagine and express what is valuable. Looking at the decline of the public sphere, the corporatization of education, the privatization of creativity, and the power of finance capital in opposition to the power of the imagination and the growth of contemporary social movements, Haiven provides a powerful argument for creating an anti-capitalist commons. Capitalism is not in crisis, it is the crisis, and moving beyond it is the only key to survival. Crucial reading for all those questioning the imposition of austerity and hoping for a fairer future beyond it.Trade ReviewHaiven's provocative book does justice to a topic that has been too long neglected. He not only explains the constraints that are everywhere placed on our political imagination, but also makes a strong case for transcending them. * Andrew Ross, author of Creditocracy and the Case for Debt Refusal *The right has taken possession of the field of values with a politics that is inadequate to deal with the crises therein, whereas the left has the concepts needed to deal with the crises but has all but abandoned the field. This is a conundrum that must be explored and solved. Haiven is to be thanked for formulating this problem so precisely. * George Caffentzis, author of In Letters of Blood and Fire *Fatalism and futility beware! We now have a handbook for the invention of a new commons. In Crises of Imagination, Crises of Power, Max Haiven explains how and why we need to struggle to take back creativity, imagination and our sense of collective purpose from those forces that seek to use it to their own ends. With the help of this book, another world really is possible. * Imre Szeman, Canada Research Chair in Cultural Studies, University of Alberta *In this inspired and engaged book, Max Haiven provides us with what he calls a series of exercises of the imagination. Readers will emerge from these invigorating sessions, which rework the machineries of finance, labor and activism, equipped with a contemporary radicalism to face the demands of a full immersion in the possibilities and complexities of our moment. * Randy Martin, New York University *Against the bankruptcy of liberal politics, Max Haiven puts forward a renewed called for the elaboration of others values, lives, and ways of being together. This is a radicalism based not upon pie-in-the-sky ideas, but on expanding the commons of a social reproduction not premised on capital's measure but its own, extending and learning from practices already in motion. Crises of Imagination, Crises of Power helps bring us closer to the utopia that is within our grasp. * Stevphen Shukaitis, author of Imaginal Machines: Autonomy and Self-Organization in the Revolutions of Everyday Life *[Haiven's] consideration of the potential cracks in the status quo, and how these might provide spaces for the collective work of imagining alternatives, demonstrates the ways in which global activist networks have already started transforming our world. * TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Crises of the Imagination 1. Reimagining Value 2. Publics, Commons, Occupations 3. The Crisis of the Financialized Imagination 4. Within and Beyond the Edu-factory 5. The Enclosure of History, the Debt of the Past, the Commons of Memory 6. The Enclosure of Creativity 7. What is the Radical Imagination? Conclusion: Fatalism and its Discontents

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Book SynopsisThe monetary history of a country provides important insights into its economic development, as well as its political and social history. This book is the first detailed study of Iran's monetary history from the advent of the Safavid dynasty in 1501 to the end of Qajar rule in 1925. Using an array of previously unpublished sources in ten languages, the authors consider the specific monetary conditions in Iran's modern history, covering the use of ready money and its circulation, the changing conditions of the country's mints and the role of the state in managing money. Throughout the book, the authors also consider the larger regional and global economic context within which the Iranian economy operated. As the first study of Iran's monetary history, this book will be essential reading for researchers of Iranian and economic history.Trade Review"This excellent, thorough hostory of money in Iransince the beginning of the Safavid dynasty, by leading experts in the field, is actually much more than that- it provides an essential foundation for an understanding of Iran's economic and political history in modern times.' Michael Axworthy, Director of the Centre for Persian and Iranian Studies, Exeter University 'This book fills a very major gap in Iran's economic history that has important ramifications for social and political history. Its descriptive, chronological narrative is well based on, and supported by, Persian and Western sources.' Gene R. Garthwaite, Jane and Raphael Bernstein Professor in Asian Studies, Emeritus and Professor of History, Emeritus, Dartmouth College.Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter One: The Monetary System during the Safavid Period: Money, Metals and Minting Introduction II. Limits on the Use of Money and the Scarcity of Current Coin Scarcity of Current Coin Minting Coins i Mints ii Technical Process iii Gold iv copper v Silver vi Local Currency Systems VI. Arbitrage Chapter Two: The Trade in Bullion in Safavid Times I. Introduction II. Government Policy until 1669 III. Restrictive Measures in the Period 1669-1684 IV. Developments after 1684 Chapter Three: The Politics of Minting Introduction Weight Reductions Monetary Matters under Shah Sulayman The Monetary Crisis of 1684-85 Developments after 1685 Chapter Four: The Monetary System under the Afsharids and Zands, 1732-1794. The Age of Copper Introduction Ghilzay Afghan Period (1722-1729) Last Safavids (1722-1736) Afsharid period (1736-1750) Afsharid Successors (1747-1750) Zand Period (1759-1794) Chapter Five. The Monetary System under the Qajars, 1779-1925 I. Minting Coins A. Traditional Mints i. Running the mints ii. The production process B. Reducing the Metal Content of Coins C. A Modern National Mint II. Fragmented Currency System i. Overview: Measuring Value in a Three-Metal System ii. Local Currencies Other than the National Standard iii. Copper Coins iv. Silver Coins v. Gold Coins vi. Limited Use of Money in Trade III. Supply of Bullion and Specie i. Local Production of Bullion ii. Importing Bullion IV. Silver’s Loss of Value i. Adjusting Ratios among Coins ii. Switching to a Gold Standard? V. Paper Currency i. IBP’s Practices ii. Limits to Acceptance of Paper Currency VI. Money at the End of the Qajar Dynasty Afterword Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisDirt - and our rituals to eradicate it - is as much a part of our everyday lives as eating, breathing and sleeping. Yet this very fact means that we seldom stop to question what we mean by dirt. What do our attitudes to dirt and cleanliness tell us about ourselves and the societies we live in? Exploring a wide variety of settings - domestic, urban, suburban and rural - the contributors expose how our ideas about dirt are intimately bound up with issues of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality and the body. The result is a a rich and challenging work that extends our understanding of historical and contemporary cultural manifestations of dirt and cleanliness.Table of ContentsContents Introduction: materialities and metaphors of dirt and cleanliness Ben Campkin and Rosie Cox Section 1 Home: Domestic Dirt and Cleaning 1 Linguistic leakiness or really dirty? Dirt in social theory Carol Wolkowitz 2 Domestic workers and pollution in Brazil Livia Barbosa 3 The visible and the invisible Lydia Martens 4 Bring home the dead: purity & filth in contemporary funeral homes Kyro Selket Section 2 City & Suburb: Urban Dirt and Cleansing 5 Degradation and regeneration: theories of dirt and the contemporary city Ben Campkin 6 From the dirty city to the spoiled suburb Paul Watt 7 Dangers lurking everywhere: the sex offender as pollution Pamela K. Gilbert 8 Hygiene aesthetics on London’s gay scene: the stigma of AIDS Johan Andersson 9 Spiritual cleansing: priests & prostitutes in early Victorian London Dominic Janes 10 Mapping sewer spaces in mid-Victorian London Paul Dobraszczyk 11 The cinematic sewer David L. Pike Section 3 Country: Constructing Rural Dirt Introduction Rosie Cox 12 Dirt & development: alternative , modernities in Thailand Alyson Brody 13 Dirty Foods, Healthy Communities ? Gareth Enticott 14 Dirty vegetables connecting consumers to the growing of their food Lewis Holloway, Laura Venn, Rosie Cox, Moya Kneafsey, Elizabeth Dowler, Herlena Tuomainen 15 Dirty cows: perceptions of BSE/vCJD Bruce A. Scholten Contributors Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisThe reader may be amazed when they are faced with the sheer number of territorial divisions associated with public action, and full of questions. What justifies this diversity? What are the problems that arise from these divisions? Why don't the limits of public action simply follow administrative and political subdivisions? Territorial Division for Public Action focuses on the situation in France, proposing three different approaches. First, we consider the functions that are associated with these territorial divisions: equitable distribution of resources across the territory, administration and the management of public services. However, they are also a tool for maintaining power. Lastly, we consider the effects these divisions have on the implementation of public action and on socio-spatial structures. These divisions reflect political projects, which embody the issues as much as the partition design itself does. The recent reform of territorial regions, alongside a gradual imposition of intercommunal links in France, has given rise to political debates at both local and national levels.

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Book SynopsisNo one is born with Wisdom - the ability to think and act with understanding and insight. Wisdom grows only in a soil rich with knowledge and experience, but knowledge and experience provide only the nutrients. Wisdom must be nurtured by curiosity and a desire for understanding. Growing wisdom takes time and effort. Great minds have graced us with records of their struggles towards wisdom. This volume enables us to stand on the shoulders of some of these giants and thereby grow our own wisdom farther - and faster!Growing Wisdom: An Invitation to Western Philosophy comprises an exceptionally affordable, readable, high-quality, scholarly rigorous collection of canonical philosophical texts. From Plato to Dennett, it presents western philosophy as dialogue between and among generations, over centuries, and challenges us to stand on the shoulders of giants in our own quest for wisdom. Includes context-enriching intellectual biographies of every author Includes ""What to Look For"" sections to help guide the reader towards understanding (and for use as possible discussion topics) Organized in historical sequence within ""problem groups"" Selections chosen from earliest editions whenever possible and appropriate; each selection includes pagination of original sources and is tagged with original publication date Selections carefully compared with original print versions and proofed for accuracy

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Book SynopsisReadings in American Government provides a wide array of material on the fundamental themes of American political life. Teachers will enjoy having a single volume, which combines more than 100 readings from both primary and secondary sources. Students will benefit from the introductory essays at the beginning of each chapter, which analyze the readings and explain the major themes of the chapter. This volume encourages professors and students to engage with timeless questions and issues facing the American regime, including: The American regime's fundamental political commitments The relationship between majority rule and the rights of minorities The tension between individualism and community Separation of powers and the role of political institutions Presidential leadership and presidential rhetoric The role of political parties and the potential for reforming them today Constitutional interpretation Economics and the appropriate extent of government involvement in the economy The purposes and principles of American foreign policy The maintenance of liberty and equality in the United States Readings in American Government has been updated to address contemporary issues such as populism and the Trump Administration, modern political rhetoric, reforming Congress, and the "Green New Deal.

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Book SynopsisThis interdisciplinary collection of essays explores the impact of media, emerging technologies, and education on the resilience of the so-called post-truth society. This book explores if a return to civic participation, enhanced critical media literacy, journalism for the public good, techno-interventions and lifelong learning systems can collectively foster a more engaged global citizenry. The post-truth society is associated with a raft of terms that challenge the very notion of what should constitute a democratic and inclusive society: the decline and fall of reason; the disruption of the public sphere; the spread of misleading information; fake news; culture wars; the rise of subjectivity; the co-opting of language; filters, silos and tribes; attention deficits; trolls, polarisation and hyper-partisanship; the conversion of popularity into legitimacy; manipulation by "populist"; leaders, governments, and fringe actors; algorithmic control, targeted messaging and native advertising; surveillance and platform capitalism. The contributions from scholars, technologists, policy-makers and activists raise critical questions about the nature and power of knowledge in the 21st century. Readers are challenged to question their own role in perpetuating certain narratives and to also understand the lived context of people on all sides of a given debate. The diverse perspectives by geography, sector, gender and world-views will widen the appeal of this work to an international audience trying to understand the resilience of the post-truth society.Table of ContentsChapter 1. Introduction; Alex Grech PART 1. Repurposing Education for the Post-Truth Society Chapter 2. Post-truth Society: Toward a Dialogical Understanding of Truth; John P. Portelli and Soudeh Oladi Chapter 3. Macro Authorities and Micro Literacies: The New Terrain of Information Politics; Bryan Alexander Chapter 4. The Learning Challenge in the 21st Century; Harry Anthony Patrinos Chapter 5. The Pre-Truth Era in MENA, News Ecology and Critical News Literacy; Abeer Al-Najjar Chapter 6. Critical Literacy is at the Heart of an Answer; Emma Pauncefort Chapter 7. Societal Reorientation via Programmable Trust: A Case for Piloting New Models of Open Governance in Education; Walter Fernando Balser, Steve Diasio and Taylor Kendal PART 2. Repurposing Media for the Post-Truth Society Chapter 8. Fact to Fake: The Media World as It Was and Is Today; Michael Bugeja Chapter 9. Post-News Journalism in the Post-Enlightenment Era; Hossein Derakhshan Chapter 10. How Can Wikipedia Save Us All? Assuming Good Faith from All Points of View in the Age of Fake News and Post-truth; Toni Sant Chapter 11. Public Rebuttal, Reflection and Responsibility. Or, an Inconvenient Answer to Fake News; Ruben Brave Chapter 12. The Kony 2012 Campaign: A Milestone of Visual Storytelling for Social Engagement; Massimiliano Fusari Chapter 13. Post-truth Visuals, Untruth Visuals; Gorg Mallia Chapter 14. Reflections on the Visual Truth and War Photography - A Historian’s Perspective; Anna Topolska Chapter 15. It is Time for Journalists to Save Journalism; Lina Zuluaga and Phillip Long PART 3. Future-proofing for the Post-Truth Society Chapter 16. Karl Marx and the Blockchain; Devraj Basu and Murdoch J. Gabbay Chapter 17. Two Sides to Every Story. The Truth, Post-truth, and the Blockchain Truth; Joshua Ellul, Alex Grech, and Gordon Pace Chapter 18. Decentralised Verification Technologies and the Web; Allan Third and John Domingue Chapter 19. How Do We Know What is True?; Natalie Smolenksi Chapter 20: Social Technologies and their Unplanned Obsolescence; Daniel Hughes

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