Search results for ""branches""

In Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics, old-time musician and flatfoot dancer Philip Jamison journeys into the past and surveys the present to tell the story behind the square dances, step dances, reels, and other forms of dance practiced in southern Appalachia. These distinctive folk dances, Jamison argues, are not the unaltered jigs and reels brought by early British settlers, but hybrids that developed over time by adopting and incorporating elements from other popular forms. He traces the forms from their European, African American, and Native American roots to the modern day. On the way he explores the powerful influence of black culture, showing how practices such as calling dances as well as specific kinds of steps combined with white European forms to create distinctly "American" dances. From cakewalks to clogging, and from the Shoo-fly Swing to the Virginia Reel, Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics reinterprets an essential aspect of Appalachian culture.

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An essential resource for students of social policy and social welfare as well as for social welfare practitioners and other human services professionals, this text examines the policymaking activity of the different branches of the American government and of the public-at-large as well as the interactions between the branches of government and the general public in the formation and implementation of social policy. In addition to examining the role of the legislative and executive branches of government, Theodore J. Stein covers the often-overlooked role of the judiciary in policymaking. He addresses the ways social welfare practitioners should interpret (1) conflicting judicial rulings in cases where courts of equal jurisdiction rule differently on the same matter and (2) judicial rulings that signal significant changes in the law. The book looks at politics, practice, and implementation and provides a historical background of social policy and social work practice plus a wealth of descriptive and analytic information concerning policymaking processes, specific social policies, and the effect of social policy on social programs.

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With little more than a knife, a branch and a dose of concentration this book shows how to create unique keepsakes that are fun to make, make great gifts and are popular items for sale. Author Chris Lubkemann shares his lifelong love of whittling in Whittling Twigs & Branches. Inside, there's everything needed to master the basic woodworking technique called curling to create birds, trees and flowers. Also inside is a picture gallery of finished pieces including table lamps, whimsical characters, letter openers, desk plaques and chess sets, to give inspiration.

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In the spirit of land artists like Andy Goldsworthy, the book is as much about discovery as it is about creation. Leaves shaped like lips might inspire a face; an array of rocks might be become an eclectic mosaic; winter’s first snow might be carved into glowing luminaria. Art, meditation, and nature meet in this adult focused activity book, with projects that take inspiration from the natural environment, using blooms, pods, branches, stones, and other natural elements. Divided into chapters by natural elements -- flowers, leaves, rocks and pods, and more, the book will encourage readers to forage and play outside using nature's seasonal art box. With quotes by artists on nature and creativity, the book is about making art from what you find and finding art in what you see.

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Plant life has figured prominently in Indian culture. Archaeobotanical findings and Vedic texts confirm that plants have been central not only as a commodity (sources of food; materia medica; sacrificial matter; etc.) but also as powerful and enduring symbols. Roots of Wisdom, Branches of Devotion. Plant Life in South Asian Traditions explores how herbs, trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables have been studied, classified, represented and discussed in a variety of Indian traditions such as Vedism, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, indigenous cultures and Islam. Moving from an analysis of the sentience of plants in early Indian philosophies and scientific literature, the various chapters, divided in four thematic sections, explore Indian flora within devotional and mystic literature (bhakti and Sufism), mythological, ritual and sacrificial culture, folklore, medicine, perfumery, botany, floriculture and agriculture. Arboreal and floral motifs are also discussed as an expression of Indian aesthetics since early coinage to figurative arts and literary figures.Finally, the volume reflects current discourses on environmentalism and ecology as well as on the place of indigenous flora as part of an ancient yet still very much alive sacred geography.

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