Search results for ""author art, culture"

'She came in like a shadow. She slid and bore herself into my eye, between my eyelids which blinked against the dust.' She is Maud Gonne, the muse of writer William Butler Yeats. Yeats here returns as a ghost, after having been buried in France in 1939 in the cemetery of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, to be returned to Ireland a decade later. He emerges from his grave to recount his thwarted love with Maud, a story that merges with that of the independence movement of Ireland, of which they were both emblematic actors. Yeats' ghost has suddenly arisen because diplomatic documents long kept secret have resurfaced, casting doubt on the contents of the coffin brought back into Ireland for a state funeral. Where did the poet's body go? Does he still hover, as he wrote, 'somewhere above the clouds'? What remains of our loves and our deaths, if not their poetry? Besserie's exciting new novel follows on from Yell, Sam, If You Still Can (Le Tiers Temps), translated by Cliona Ni Riordain. In Maylis Besserie's second novel, she turns her attention from Samuel Beckett to another iconic Irish writer, W. B. Yeats. The connection between France in Ireland is once again explored in the context of art, culture and the days at the end of life.

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Buildings in Society: International Studies in the Historic Era presents a series of papers reflecting the latest approaches to the study of buildings from the historic period. This volume does not examine buildings as architecture, but adopts an archaeological perspective to consider them as artefacts, reflecting the needs of those who commissioned them. Studies have often failed to consider the historical contexts in which the buildings were constructed and how they were subsequently used and interpreted. The papers in this volume situate their interpretation in their social context. Buildings can inform us about past cultures as they are responsive and evolve to meet people’s needs over time. The buildings examined in this volume range from the twelfth to the twenty-first century and cross continents including case-studies from America, Australia and Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia and the Mediterranean. Themes include: Approaches to the study of buildings, Buildings of Power, Buildings in Identity, Domestic Space and Urban and Village Spaces. The essays consider building design, role, and how the buildings were altered as their function changed to coincide with the needs and aspirations of those who owned or used the buildings. This collection of papers emphasizes the need for further international multidisciplinary approaches including archaeology, architectural history and art history in order to understand how ideas, styles, approaches and designs spread over time and space. Together, these papers generate valuable new insights into the study of buildings in the historic period.

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Digital storytelling for brands has become a non-negotiable skill in the 21st century, due to the need to connect and communicate with diverse audiences across multiple channels and platforms. The ability to understand narrative(s) is now a prerequisite for many business, communication, marketing and public relations professionals, as well as content creators and journalists. This book teaches essential skills in deconstructing the traditional narrative and how to adapt narrative to fit contemporary platforms. Co-creative methods are emphasised and provide readers with a theoretical underpinning of participatory culture, and narrative. For the first time ever, this book brings together extant arts and humanities-based models with business theory. It provides learners with a clear understanding of the creative and persuasive form of narrative within a digital context, whilst building brand. Contemporary case studies highlight challenges faced in the digital world, including implications for reputation management, considerations associated with mis- and disinformation and the crucial role of the collective narrative. A key principle guiding this book is: ‘the more digital we become, the more we crave to feel human’ and it is this very space where digital storytelling can cut through the (digital) noise to provide an authentic connection. Bridget Tombleson is an academic at Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, with more than twenty years’ experience in public relations and the communication industry. Katharina Wolf is an Associate Professor at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia, and Lead of the Faculty of Business and Law’s public relations program.

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First full English translation of a major text, narrating the adventures of the Jouvencel whilst interweaving them with advice on military tactics and strategies. Le Jouvencel is one of the most important and revealing sources for the study of medieval warfare and chivalry. It tells the story of a poor young soldier whose skill at arms enables him to rise through the ranks and eventually marry a foreign princess. Jean de Bueil (1406-1477 wrote the book around 1466, following his retirement from military service, drawing heavily upon his own experiences as one of the most prominent French soldiers of the fifteenth century. The pages of Le Jouvencel are filled with unusually detailed descriptions of military campaigns, sieges and battles, capturing the tactics, weapons and everyday life of the soldier with a vivid eye for detail. Many of the characters, places and events described in the apparently fictional story were actually inspired by recent history, as was revealed in a Commentary written just a few years after Bueil's death by one of his squires, Guillaume Tringant. Jean de Bueil wrote Le Jouvencel to provide future generations of soldiers and military leaders with advice on chivalry, knighthood and the art of warfare. As a result, this remarkable chivalric narrative offers a window into the martial culture of French soldiers during the final stages of the Hundred Years War. This first English translation is presented with an introduction to the text and to Jean de Bueil, and explanatory notes.

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In addition to being one of the greatest technical philosophers of the twentieth century, John Dewey (1859-1952) was an educational innovator, a Progressive Era reformer, and one of America's last great public intellectuals. Dewey's insights into the problems of public education, immigration, the prospects for democratic government, and the relation of religious faith to science are as fresh today as when they were first published. His penetrating treatments of the nature and function of philosophy, the ethical and aesthetic dimensions of life, and the role of inquiry in human experience are of increasing relevance at the turn of the 21st century.Based on the award-winning 37-volume critical edition of Dewey's work, The Essential Dewey presents for the first time a collection of Dewey's writings that is both manageable and comprehensive. The volume includes essays and book chapters that exhibit Dewey's intellectual development over time; the selection represents his mature thinking on every major issue to which he turned his attention. Eleven part divisions cover: Dewey in Context; Reconstructing Philosophy; Evolutionary Naturalism; Pragmatic Metaphysics; Habit, Conduct, and Language; Meaning, Truth, and Inquiry; Valuation and Ethics; The Aims of Education; The Individual, the Community, and Democracy; Pragmatism and Culture: Science and Technology, Art and Religion; and Interpretations and Critiques. Taken as a whole, this collection provides unique access to Dewey's understanding of the problems and prospects of human existence and of the philosophical enterprise.

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Men’s jewelry has a long and fascinating history, with storied houses, famous patrons and a diverse range of modern designers. Behind each tiny piece often lies a complex narrative of patronage, personality and craftsmanship. This is the first publication dedicated solely to a neglected subject. Drawing on his expertise on men’s style and insider’s knowledge of the jewelry industry, men’s style aficionado James Sherwood tells the story of men’s relationship with jewelry and presents the contemporary artisans who keep the art alive. Through thematic chapters, works by key jewelers are profiled and richly illustrated, including pieces by Tiffany & Co., David Yurman, Cartier, Boucheron and Ara Vartanian. Hundreds of exquisite photographs, many specially commissioned, of rings, cufflinks, studs, pins, slides, bracelets, chains and pendants chart changing fashions and evolving attitudes to men’s jewelry over the centuries. Pieces by great craftsmen and -women and the patrons who commissioned them, from the Maharaja of Kashmir to David Bowie, are brought to life through vivid texts and contemporary and archival portraits. This sumptuous guide to sartorial elegance sets men’s jewelry in its proper historical and cultural contexts, offering an unexpected resource for jewelers and a trove of inspiration for anyone who wears, gifts or simply admires men’s jewelry.

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A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK 'A great, thrusting codpiece of a book. It is big, bombastic and richly brocaded... A jewel in its own right' The Times 'Evokes the painter and his world as vividly as a Holbein masterpiece. Beautifully written and illustrated, this book is a must for lovers of Tudor history' Tracy Borman Full of insight... This is a gorgeous book, to which I am sure I shall return again and again' Dan Jones Hans Holbein the Younger is chiefly celebrated for his beautiful and precisely realised portraiture, which includes representations of Henry VIII, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Anne of Cleves, Jane Seymour and an array of the Tudor lords and ladies he encountered during the course of two sojourns in England. But beyond these familiar images, which have come to define our perception of the world of the Henrician court, Holbein was a protean and multi-faceted genius: a humanist, satirist, political propagandist, and contributor to the history of book design as well as a religious artist and court painter. The rich layers of symbolism and allusion that characterise his work have proved especially fascinating to scholars. Franny Moyle traces and analyses the life and work of an extraordinary artist against the backdrop of an era of political turbulence and cultural transformation, to which his art offers a subtle and endlessly refracting mirror.

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The interplay between violence, religion, and politics is a central problem for societies and has attracted the attention of important philosophers, including Martin Heidegger, Jacques Derrida, and Rene Girard. Centuries earlier during the Italian Renaissance, these same problems drew the interest of Niccolo Machiavelli. In Not Even a God Can Save Us Now, Brian Harding argues that Machiavelli's work anticipates - and often illuminates - contemporary theories on the place of violence in our lives. While remaining cognizant of the historical and cultural context of Machiavelli's writings, Harding develops Machiavelli's accounts of sacrifice, truth, religion, and violence and places them in conversation with those of more contemporary thinkers. Including in-depth discussions of Machiavelli's works The Prince and Discourses on Livy, as well as his Florentine Histories, The Art of War, and other less widely discussed works, Harding interprets Machiavelli as endorsing sacrificial violence that founds or preserves a state, while censuring other forms of violence. This reading clarifies a number of obscure themes in Machiavelli's writings, and demonstrates how similar themes are at work in the thought of recent phenomenologists. The first book to approach both Machiavellian and contemporary continental thought in this way, Not Even a God Can Save Us Now is a highly original and provocative approach to both the history of philosophy and to contemporary debates about violence, religion, and politics.

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This is a brilliant exploration of Radiohead's game-changing album, looking at its place in the career of "The World's Best Band" with ten years of hindsight. Radiohead's Kid A never had a chance on paper. Not only did the band have the unenviable task of following up the near-universally lauded "OK Computer", but Kid A didn't even have an official single or video. Neither did it help that the band largely abandoned rock-pop conventions for a sound that traversed glitch, free-jazz, modern composition, and krautrock. Rather than simply reinforcing Kid A's canonical status, Marvin Lin situates the album in the temporal, examining it from various philosophical and cultural interpretations of time in order to arrive at its political and social stakes. Why should we care how time is expressed through its aesthetic components like repetition, sampling, and hybridization? Where does the album subvert our sense of time with songs like "Treefingers"? In which ways does it attempt to transcend time and with what implications? Time is perhaps art's biggest enemy - all human creations will be erased eventually - but it's through these various articulations that we are able to uncover some of the most interesting insights about Kid A. For more information on the series and on individual titles in the series, check out our blog.

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American Mensa presents: The Brilliant Bathroom Reader—The ultimate book of 5,000 facts curated by the world's smartest brand. Perfect to expand any curious mind! Whether gearing up for a big trivia night or simply wanting to give your brain something interesting to think about, this big book of 5,000 facts from the smartest brand in the world fits the bill. These facts will make you think. They’ll make you wonder. You may even want to research more about some of these topics. Most of all, you’ll have a ton of fun learning about everything from Thomas Edison’s attempts at mind reading to Dr. Lucy King’s beehive fences that scare elephants from destroying farms. We cover as many topics as possible, including facts that got our attention while weeding out the stuff that made us yawn or go, “Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that one a million times.” Topics include: Flora, Fauna, and Funga Science and Technology World Culture History US Presidents National Parks Art, Fashion, and Literature Architecture Health Comics Music and Entertainment Sports and Leisure Bizarre but True The Brilliant Bathroom Reader is the perfect gift for learning new and exciting facts whenever you have a spare moment or two.

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The Javanese movement artist Suprapto Suryodarmo (universally known as Prapto) died in 2019. He had devoted his life to developing, embodying, teaching and sharing his practice of Amerta Movement / Joged Amerta, which, in his own words, is not only a language for communication but also an expression of being. In the course of his life, Prapto worked with students and colleagues (people from all walks of life, including internationally-known artists, performers, practitioners and teachers, all of whom he treated equally as ‘friends’) in sacred, ancient and mundane sites around the world. He never attempted to write down his practice, although he encouraged many ‘friends’ to spread the word and the practice, sharing their own understandings of his work widely. ​ This book, covering the early years of Prapto’s teaching, is the closest there is to a record of that period of his work in English. It is a radically revised, updated and edited version of Lise Lavelle’s doctoral thesis and draws on her unrivalled knowledge of the culture, language, art, religion and traditions of Java – the pot in which Prapto’s life, work and practice were cooked. ​ While Amerta Movement continued to evolve during this century, 'The Roots of Amerta Movement' offers a clear and many-layered introduction. For anyone wanting to know more about Prapto and his work, it is a very good place to start.

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'If we hope to meet the moral test of our times, then I think we're going to have to talk more about the "empathy deficit". The ability to put ourselves in somebody else's shoes, to see the world through somebody else's eyes . . .' Barack ObamaEmpathy is the power of understanding others, imaginatively entering into their feelings. It is a fundamental human attribute, without which mutually co-operative societies cannot function. In a revolutionary development, we now know who has it, who lacks it and why. Via the MRI scanner we are mapping the human brain. This is a new frontier that reveals a host of beneficial ideas for childcare, teens challenged by the internet, the justice system, decent healthcare, tackling racism and resolving conflicts. In this wide-ranging and accessible book full of entertaining stories that are underlined by the latest scientific research, Peter Bazalgette also mounts a passionate defence of arts and popular culture as a means of bridging the empathy gap. As the world's population expands, consuming the planet's finite resources, as people haunted by poverty and war are on the move and as digital communications infinitely complicate our social interactions, we find our patience and our sympathy constantly challenged. Here is the antidote.Culminating in a passionate manifesto on empathy, The Empathy Instinct is what makes us human and what can make us better humans.

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"As visually arresting as it is informative."—The Boston Globe "Du Bois's bold colors and geometric shapes were decades ahead of modernist graphic design in America."—Fast Company's Co.Design W.E.B. Du Bois's Data Portraits is the first complete publication of W.E.B. Du Bois's groundbreaking charts, graphs, and maps presented at the 1900 Paris Exposition. Famed sociologist, writer, and Black rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois fundamentally changed the representation of Black Americans with his exhibition of data visualizations at the 1900 Paris Exposition. Beautiful in design and powerful in content, these data portraits make visible a wide spectrum of African American culture, from advances in education to the lingering effects of slavery. They convey a literal and figurative representation of what he famously referred to as "the color line," collected here in full color for the first time. A landmark collection for social history, graphic design, and data science. • Data display, visualizations, and infographics far ahead of their time • Colorful graphs and charts are mesmerizing pieces of art in their own right • A valuable companion to W.E. B. Du Bois's The Souls of Black Folk • Includes contributions from Aldon Morris, Silas Munro, and Mabel O. Wilson W.E.B. Du Bois's Data Portraits is an informative and provocative history, data, and graphic design book that continues to resonate with audiences today.

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“Czap’s Magic Future Cleveland is hyper-diverse. People of color are the majority in this world. There’s every body type. Gender presentation is all over the map. The body hair situation is impressive. It’s a physical world, of flesh and blood. And unlike the kind of “happy” imagery that slides into kitsch, not everyone here is smiling all the time. Czap’s characters yell and sweat, they speak honestly and openly. They cry a lot, usually with joy, but real hot tears. Their joy isn’t easy, and that makes it familiar.”—Eleanor Davis, The Comics Journal What if the future began in a small, queer, punk music show in the basement of a Cleveland, Ohio, house? Romantic friendships, überchic culture, magical solutions, kid think-tanks, and more make up Kevin Czap’s vision of not-so-distant America. Fütchi Perf might not depict a perfect future, but its slice-of-life vignettes, drawn in a glorious, kaleidoscopic two-color palette, visualize a utopian dream that seems almost real, but perpetually out of reach. Kevin Czap (pronounced “chap”) was raised in Northern Virginia, studied art in Cleveland, OH, and is now based in Providence, RI. They run the micropress Czap Books, endearingly referred to as “Comics Mom.” In 2016, Czap received the second annual Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) Emerging Talent Award for their work and involvement in the comics community.

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Sport? Entertainment? Art form? Perhaps a bit of all three with a certain intangible extra something thrown in for good measure making professional wrestling a truly unique entity unto itself. From its origins in carnivals and sideshow attractions of the 19th century right up to the multimillion-dollar multimedia industry of the present day and all the bizarre wild and woolly points in between ÊPro Wrestling FAQÊ delves into the entire history and broad scope of one of popular culture's most enduring yet ever-changing spectacles.ÞWith chapters devoted to the many fascinating eras in the history of the business as well as capsule biographies of some its most memorable and important figures this book will serve as the ultimate one-volume reference guide for both long-time wrestling nuts and initiates to the grappling phenomenon.ÞRevisit the legendary 1911 Match of the Century pitting World Champion Frank Gotch against archrival George Hackenschmidt the Russian Lion ; experience wrestling's TV golden age in the 1950s a time of such colorful personages as Gorgeous George and Antonino Rocca; relive the glory days of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant when WWF impresario Vince McMahon took the business mainstream; and get the lowdown on recent favorites such as John Cena CM Punk and others who have taken the business boldly into the 21st century.

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As a city that seems to float between Europe and Asia, removed by a lagoon from the tempos of terra firma, Venice has long seduced the Western imagination. Since the 1797 fall of the Venetian Republic, fantasies about the sinking city have engendered an elaborate series of romantic cliches, provoking conflicting responses: some modern artists and intellectuals embrace the resistance to modernity manifest in Venice's labyrinthine premodern form and temporality, whereas others aspire to modernize by "killing the moonlight" of Venice, in the Futurists' notorious phrase. Spanning the history of literature, art, and architecture-from John Ruskin, Henry James, and Ezra Pound to Manfredo Tafuri, Italo Calvino, Jeanette Winterson, and Robert Coover-Killing the Moonlight tracks the pressures that modernity has placed on the legacy of romantic Venice, and the distinctive strains of aesthetic invention that resulted from the clash. In Venetian incarnations of modernism, the anachronistic urban fabric and vestigial sentiment that both the nation-state of Italy and the historical avant-garde would cast off become incompletely assimilated parts of the new. Killing the Moonlight brings Venice into the geography of modernity as a living city rather than a metaphor for death, and presents the archipelago as a crucible for those seeking to define and transgress the conceptual limits of modernism. In strategic detours from the capitals of modernity, the book redrafts the confines of modernist culture in both geographical and historical terms.

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While travelling overland to India from Europe in the fall of 1971, Luke Powell ran into the war between India and Pakistan, and he spent the following winter in neighbouring Afghanistan. Powell was stunned by the beauty of the country, the state of preservation of the culture, and by the Afghans’ ability to be totally self-sustaining. He returned nearly every year until 1978, when he left the country three days before a Communist coup. Powell’s ability to transform raw 35 mm film into refined printed images grew during 15 years when he printed his work with the legendary Dye Transfer Process. The Afghan Folio exhibition travelled to over 120 museums and galleries in North America and Europe, during the years when the Russians were occupying Kabul. In early 2000 the Taliban government invited Luke Powell to come back to Afghanistan, and later that year the Northern Alliance allowed him to travel alone in areas under their control. Through 2003 Powell took photographs for the United Nations Demining Program for Afghanistan and other UN agencies. In Afghan Gold Luke Powell has tried to separate art from journalism and show only the beautiful, traditional side of Afghanistan. In the text, published in a separate volume, Powell acts as a spokesman for an essentially peace-loving people who have been at war for the last three decades, placing the images in an unusually broad historical context.

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One of the most exhilarating cities in the world, London is steeped in history whilst embracing innovation. Its skyline is a mix of old and new, with the beautiful architectural splendour of St Paul’s Cathedral sitting comfortably alongside the staggering modernity of new high rises. The pomp and ceremony of quintessential British culture remains very much on show, from Changing the Guard to the Lord Mayor’s Show and tea at The Ritz. With world-famous museums, art galleries, theatres, eight royal parks, shops, restaurants and a buzzing nightlife, London has something on offer for everyone. The latest Pitkin guide to London is a fresh, updated edition of our best-seller In and Around London. This guidebook celebrates the most famous icons in our English heritage, as well as introducing the newest architectural additions to the city’s skyline – from museums to The Shard. The book showcases all these top attractions in a fun and accessible manner, offering exciting facts and anecdotes as well as significant historical information. At 44 pages, London is compact enough to fit into a bag or a small piece of hand luggage, but it is still an insightful read. Whether it is an expedition through the museums - back in time to ancient London, following the footsteps of one of the most famous royal families in the world or indulging in the countless eateries, theatres and shopping hubs, this text is the perfect companion to any tourist visiting London.

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'Devil-may-care daring and biting humour . . . Think Rachel Cusk's autofiction on skunk and OxyContin and you're in the right ballpark' The Times 'In a literary culture swamped by clenched, worthy fiction and the writer as activist, her satirist's misanthropy and taste for provocation are a tonic' Observer 'Enjoyably mischievous and daring' Financial Times 'Ruthless, very funny' New York Times 'A wicked satire of the literary elite and an exploration of art and violence' New Yorker Mona is a Peruvian writer based on a Californian campus, open-eyed and sardonic, a connoisseur of marijuana and prescription pills. In the humanities she has discovered she is something of an anthropological curiosity - a female writer of colour treasured for the flourish of rarefied diversity that reflects so well upon her department. When she is nominated for 'the most important literary award in Europe', Mona sees a chance to escape her sunlit substance abuse and erotic distraction, and leaves for a small village in Sweden. Now she is stuck in the company of her competitors, who arrive from Japan, France, Armenia, Iran and Colombia. The writers do what writers do: exchange flattery, nurse envy and private resentments, stab rivals in the back and go to bed together. But all the while, Mona keeps stumbling across traces of violence on her body, the origins of which she can't - or won't - remember.

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An exploration of the representational culture of Alzheimer’s disease and how media technologies shape our ideas of cognition and aging With no known cause or cure despite a century of research, Alzheimer’s disease is a true medical mystery. In Mediating Alzheimer’s, Scott Selberg examines the nature of this enduring national health crisis by looking at the disease’s relationship to media and representation. He shows how collective investments in different kinds of media have historically shaped how we understand, treat, and live with this disease. Selberg demonstrates how the cognitive abilities that Alzheimer’s threatens—memory, for example—are integrated into the operations of representational technologies, from Polaroid photographs to Post-its to digital artificial intelligence. Focusing on a wide variety of media technologies, such as neuroimaging, art therapy, virtual reality, and social media, he shows how these cognitively oriented media ultimately help define personhood for people with Alzheimer’s. Media have changed the practices of successful aging in the United States, and Selberg takes us deep into how technologies like digital brain-training and online care networks shape ideas of cognition and healthy aging.Packed with startlingly fresh insights, Mediating Alzheimer’s contributes to debates around bioethics, the labor of caregiving, and a national economy increasingly invested in communication and digital media. Probing the very technologies that promise to save and understand our brains, it gives us new ways of understanding Alzheimer’s disease and aging in America.

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Liturgical Subjects examines the history of the self in the Byzantine Empire, challenging narratives of Christian subjectivity that focus only on classical antiquity and the Western Middle Ages. As Derek Krueger demonstrates, Orthodox Christian interior life was profoundly shaped by patterns of worship introduced and disseminated by Byzantine clergy. Hymns, prayers, and sermons transmitted complex emotional responses to biblical stories, particularly during Lent. Religious services and religious art taught congregants who they were in relation to God and each other. Focusing on Christian practice in Constantinople from the sixth to eleventh centuries, Krueger charts the impact of the liturgical calendar, the eucharistic rite, hymns for vigils and festivals, and scenes from the life of Christ on the making of Christian selves. Exploring the verse of great Byzantine liturgical poets, including Romanos the Melodist, Andrew of Crete, Theodore the Stoudite, and Symeon the New Theologian, he demonstrates how their compositions offered templates for Christian self-regard and self-criticism, defining the Christian "I." Cantors, choirs, and congregations sang in the first person singular expressing guilt and repentence, while prayers and sermons defined the collective identity of the Christian community as sinners in need of salvation. By examining the way models of selfhood were formed, performed, and transmitted in the Byzantine Empire, Liturgical Subjects adds a vital dimension to the history of the self in Western culture.

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Dystopic imagery has figured prominently in modern depictions of the urban landscape. The city is often portrayed as a terrifying world of darkness, crisis, and catastrophe. Noir Urbanisms traces the history of the modern city through its critical representations in art, cinema, print journalism, literature, sociology, and architecture. It focuses on visual forms of dystopic representation--because the history of the modern city is inseparable from the production and circulation of images--and examines their strengths and limits as urban criticism. Contributors explore dystopic images of the modern city in Germany, Mexico, Japan, India, South Africa, China, and the United States. Their topics include Weimar representations of urban dystopia in Fritz Lang's 1927 film Metropolis; 1960s modernist architecture in Mexico City; Hollywood film noir of the 1940s and 1950s; the recurring fictional destruction of Tokyo in postwar Japan's sci-fi doom culture; the urban fringe in Bombay cinema; fictional explorations of urban dystopia in postapartheid Johannesburg; and Delhi's out-of-control and media-saturated urbanism in the 1980s and 1990s. What emerges in Noir Urbanisms is the unsettling and disorienting alchemy between dark representations and the modern urban experience. In addition to the editor, the contributors are David R. Ambaras, James Donald, Ruben Gallo, Anton Kaes, Ranjani Mazumdar, Jennifer Robinson, Mark Shiel, Ravi Sundaram, William M. Tsutsui, and Li Zhang.

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The political thought of Muslim societies is all too often defined in religious terms, in which the writings of clerics are seen as representative and ideas about governance are treated as an extension of commentary on sacred texts. Disenchanting the Caliphate offers a groundbreaking new account of political discourse in Islamic history by examining Abbasid imperial practice, illuminating the emergence and influence of a vibrant secular tradition.Closely reading key eighth-century texts, Hayrettin Yücesoy argues that the ulema’s discourse of religious governance and the political thought of lay intellectuals diverged during this foundational period, with enduring consequences. He traces how notions of good governance and reflections on prudent statecraft arose among cosmopolitan literati who envisioned governing as an art. Competent in nonreligious branches of knowledge and trained in administrative professions, these belletrists articulated and defended secular political practices, reimagining the caliphal realm as politically constituted rather than natural. They sought to improve administrative efficiency and bolster state control for an empire made up of diverse cultures. Their ideas about moral cultivation, temporal reasoning, and governmental rationality endured for centuries as a counterpoint to religious rulership. Drawing on this history, Yücesoy critiques the concept of “Islamic political thought,” calling for decolonizing debates about “secular” and “religious” politics.Theoretically rich and historically grounded, Disenchanting the Caliphate is an insightful and provocative reconsideration of key strands of political discourse in the intellectual history of Muslim societies.

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Brought back into print in the 1990s to wide acclaim, re-designed new editions of Robert van Gulik's Judge Dee Mysteries are now available.Written by a Dutch diplomat and scholar during the 1950s and 1960s, these lively and historically accurate mysteries have entertained a devoted following for decades. Set during the T'ang dynasty, they feature Judge Dee, a brilliant and cultured Confucian magistrate disdainful of personal luxury and corruption, who cleverly selects allies to help him navigate the royal courts, politics, and ethnic tensions in imperial China. Robert van Gulik modeled Judge Dee on a magistrate of that name who lived in the seventh century, and he drew on stories and literary conventions of Chinese mystery writing dating back to the Sung dynasty to construct his ingenious plots.Necklace and Calabash finds Judge Dee returning to his district of Poo-yang, where the peaceful town of Riverton promises a few days' fishing and relaxation. Yet a chance meeting with a Taoist recluse, a gruesome body fished out of the river, strange guests at the Kingfisher Inn, and a princess in distress thrust the judge into one of the most intricate and baffling mysteries of his career.An expert on the art and erotica as well as the literature, religion, and politics of China, van Gulik also provides charming illustrations to accompany his engaging and entertaining mysteries.

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Singapore, a small island nation, offers a huge variety of experiences for holidaymakers of all kinds. This bustling cosmopolitan city has excellent shopping malls and fascinating museums; heritage trails and wildlife walks; a colourful nightlife and a huge choice of dining options. Much planning has been involved in maximising these attractions. Leading the way are the two integrated resorts of Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands which offer the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas as well as all the excitement of theme park activities. Other massive projects are the 1.1 km boardwalk that runs along the coast and mangrove area of Chek Jawa, allowing nature lovers to get close to the rich plant and marine life, as well as `Gardens by the Bay’, three waterfront gardens that showcase horticulture and garden art. Singapore’s Botanic Gardens have developed into one of the world’s most respected with palms, cycads, bromeliads and a vast number of orchids. For sporting enthusiasts, there’s the recently introduced F1 Grand Prix, as well as all of the watersports you would expect around an island and some adventurous trekking in the national parks and wetlands. The wonderful array of cuisines from Peranakan to Chinese, Indian to Malay is proof of the collage of cultures that make up Singapore’s population. Enchanting Singapore introduces all of the must-see places and events to help you make the most of your holiday time.

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One of the most exhilarating cities in the world, London is steeped in history whilst embracing innovation. Its skyline is a mix of old and new, with the beautiful architectural splendour of St Paul’s Cathedral sitting comfortably alongside the staggering modernity of new high rises. The pomp and ceremony of quintessential British culture remains very much on show, from Changing the Guard to the Lord Mayor’s Show and tea at The Ritz. With world-famous museums, art galleries, theatres, eight royal parks, shops, restaurants and a buzzing nightlife, London has something on offer for everyone. The latest Pitkin guide to London is a fresh, updated edition of our best-seller In and Around London. This guidebook celebrates the most famous icons in our English heritage, as well as introducing the newest architectural additions to the city’s skyline – from museums to The Shard. The book showcases all these top attractions in a fun and accessible manner, offering exciting facts and anecdotes as well as significant historical information. At 44 pages, London is compact enough to fit into a bag or a small piece of hand luggage, but it is still an insightful read. Whether it is an expedition through the museums - back in time to ancient London, following the footsteps of one of the most famous royal families in the world or indulging in the countless eateries, theatres and shopping hubs, this text is the perfect companion to any tourist visiting London.

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The Way We Wed: A History of Wedding Fashion presents styles and stories from the Renaissance to the present day, chronicling evolving fashions as well as changing customs, lifestyles, and values. And because all wedding attire has a tale to tell, The Way We Wed also reveals fascinating personal stories of those who wore it. While the book is a visually and thematically rich source of bridal inspiration for all seasons, it's far from a monotonous parade of white gowns. The long white wedding dress is a relatively recent innovation popularized by Queen Victoria; it has traditionally been reserved for the upper classes, and abandoned in times of war, economic hardship, or mourning. The Way We Wed showcases wedding gowns of all colors and styles from around the world, as well as going-away dresses, accessories (shoes, veils, hats, fans, and tiaras), and clothes worn by flower girls, bridesmaids, mothers of the bride, and grooms. Same-sex weddings are represented, and the book features celebrity brides (Angelina Jolie, Frida Kahlo, Elizabeth Taylor, Princess Diana, Martha Washington, Solange Knowles, Ellen DeGeneres, Meghan Markle) as well as everyday anonymous couples. Illustrated with 100 gorgeous photos, The Way We Wed is a rich celebration of the art of wedding fashion across time and cultures, and those whose style and circumstances made a statement.

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Riverdance exploded across the stage at Dublin's Point Theatre one spring evening in 1994 during a seven-minute interval of the Eurovision Song Contest hosted by Ireland. It was a watershed moment in the cultural history of a country embracing the future, a confident leap into world music grounded in the footfall of the choreographed kick-line. It was a moment forty-five years in the making for its composer. In this tenderly unfurled memoir Bill Whelan rehearses a lifetime of unconscious preparation as step by step he revisits his past, from with his Barrington Street home in 1950s Limerick, to the forcing ground of University College Dublin and the Law Library during the 1960s, to his attic studio in Ranelagh. Along the way the reader is introduced to people and places in the immersive world of fellow musicians, artists and producers, friends and collaborators, embracing the spectrum of Irish music as it broke boundaries, entering the global slipstream of the 1980s and 1990s. As art and commerce fused, dramas and contending personalities come to view behind the arras of stage, screen and recording desk. Whelan pays tribute to a parade of those who formed his world. He describes the warmth and sustenance of his Limerick childhood, his parents and Denise Quinn, won through assiduous courtship; the McCourts and Jesuit fathers of his early days, the breakthrough with a tempestuous Richard Harris who summoned him to London; Danny Doyle, Shay Healy, Dickie Rock, Planxty, The Dubliners and Stockton's Wing, Noel Pearson, Sean O Riada; working with Jimmy Webb, Leon Uris, The Corrs, Paul McGuinness, Moya Doherty, John McColgan, Jean Butler and Michael Flatley. Written with wry, inimitable Irish humour and insight, Bill Whelan's self deprecation allows us to to see the players in all their glory, vulnerability and idiosyncracy. This fascinating work reveals the nuts, bolts, sheer effort and serendipities that formed the road to Riverdance in his reinvention of the Irish tradition for a modern age. As the show went on to perform to millions worldwide, Whelan was honoured with a 1997 Grammy Award when Riverdance was named the 'Best Musical Show Album.' Richly detailed and illustrated, The Road to Riverdance forms an enduring repository of memory for all concerned with the performing arts.

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Yvonne Weekes' memoir of eight years dominated by the awakening, eruption and still grumbling aftermath of Montserrat's Soufriere is a remarkable document at many levels. It is an acutely written account of the impact of the eruption on the life and viability of this small Caribbean island, with a quizzical eye for the undertones of the experience - the way, for instance, the awakened mountain becomes a favoured place for car-bourne lovers' trysts - as well as for the more public manifestations of the way her people responded to disaster. As Director of Culture who organised a theatrical review that was taken round the refugees in the temporary shelters, she was well-placed to observe and listen; one of the qualities of the book is the way it brings the voices of Montserratians so vividly to life. She captures a world split between the new scientific vocabulary of seismology and pyroclastic flows and the Old Testament talk of Sodom and Gomorrah and sins punished. But 'Volcano' is above all a personal and intimate account of the processes of stress, loss, grieving emptiness and the rebuilding of heart and sense of self; of confronting the 'nothingness that hollows me', when everything by which she has known herself - home, family, friends, landscape - is taken from her, when faith is tested to the core. But it is the quality of Yvonne Weekes' writing that makes 'Volcano' a work of art as well as a record. Her prose is always alive, conversational and clear, rising to memorable heights when she describes the terrible moments of blackness against which all life demands to be reviewed.

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The Cold War ended thirty years ago, the Communists have won in Europe and the world has settled into two blocks divided by a silicon curtain, The Partition. The tranquil backwater of the People’s Republic of Britain is due to host an international sporting event, the Games, and celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the country becoming a republic. When the organiser of the Games dies suddenly and his office is broken into, Barrow, the retired security operative enlisted to investigate, is drawn into a conspiracy that has implications not only for him and his team of young and inexperienced assistants, but for their entire way of life. How is the American research student Julia Verona implicated? Is some kind of attack being planned? Who is really in command of the operation? Is there a double agent within the PRBs security apparatus? What is the significance of the reclusive novelist Vernon Crane? Fusing the trappings of a literary thriller with experimental style, Eminent Domain explores the art, culture, politics, personalities, conflicts, loves and losses of a range of boldly realised characters in a Utopian world radically different to our own but recognizably the way that things, at one time, might have been. A kaleidoscopic satire of our present moment, Eminent Domain is both a dark thriller and a radical neo-modernist experiment that probes at the limits of Utopia, a formally dazzling reimagining of the political novel in which lives, worlds and even realities collide to devastating effect.

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A stunning celebration of the equine world. This definitive visual guide to horses and ponies includes a list of over 150 different breeds and types, including all those recognized by national horse societies. This stunning volume is the perfect reference guide for horse lovers of all ages!Inside the pages of this horse encyclopedia, you’ll find: • A comprehensive horse compendium. • Expert care advice on keeping, feeding, grooming and caring for horses. • Panels on famous breeds, or individual horses, owners, riders or breeders. Everything about horses!From tiny ponies to heavy draft horses and speedy thoroughbreds, horses are among the most influential animals in human history. The Horse Encyclopedia explores the evolution and anatomy of the horse and its place in history, art and culture. Gorgeous photography of horse breeds worldwide is accompanied by knowledgeable text describing the origins, history and characteristics of a definitive list of horses and ponies. This animal encyclopedia also includes expert advice on horse care, including feeding and grooming and horse health.Love animals? Try our other animal encyclopedias!The Horse Encyclopedia explores all you need to know about horses and ponies in one dazzling volume — a must-have for any equine enthusiast! Other Definitive Visual Guide series titles include the Dog Encyclopedia and Cat Encyclopedia, stunning celebrations of your favorite pets!

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It is arguably Confucianism, not Communism, which lies at the core of China's deepest sense of self. Although reviled by Chinese intellectuals of the 1950s-1990s, who spoke of it as 'yellow silt clotting the arteries of the country', Confucianism has defied eradication, remaining a fundamental part of the nation's soul for 2500 years. And now, as China assumes greater ascendancy on the world economic stage, it is making a strong comeback as a pragmatic philosophy of personal as well as corporate transformation, popular in both home and boardroom. What is this complex system of ideology that stems from the teachings of a remarkable man called Confucius (Kongzi), who lived in the distant sixth century BCE? Though he left no writings of his own, the oral teachings recorded by the founder's disciples in the 'Analects' left a profound mark on later Chinese politics and governance. They outline a system of social cohesiveness dependent upon personal virtue and self-control. For Confucius, society's harmony relied upon the appropriate behaviour of each individual within the social hierarchy; and its emphasis on practical ethics has led many to think of Confucianism as a secular philosophy rather than a religion. In this new, comprehensive introduction, Ronnie Littlejohn argues rather that Confucianism is profoundly spiritual, and must be treated as such. He offers full coverage of the tradition's sometimes neglected metaphysics, as well as its varied manifestations in education, art, literature and culture.

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It's time for the ladies—the First Ladies, that is—to get their time in the spotlight What does a First Lady do? What makes a First Lady successful? If you've always wanted to know, this is the place to come to for the answers! This reference has the inside scoop on all the First Ladies, including Michelle Obama's campaigns for healthy eating and Jackie Kennedy's emphasis on art and culture. In First Ladies For Dummies, you'll find out how these women's values, initiatives, and style have influenced all our lives, and how they've become true role models for generations. With the detailed biographies and personal profiles in First Ladies For Dummies, you'll gain a well-rounded knowledge of the United States' 47 First Ladies. From Martha to Melania, from Jackie to Dr. Jill, and everyone in between, every First Lady has left her stamp on the White House, in the Rose Garden, and in history, and this book covers it all. It includes: An historical context for a deeper understanding of the world these First Ladies lived in Accounts of their childhoods and early lives to learn who these women were before they stepped foot in the White House Each First Lady's interests and achievements Whether you're a history fanatic or just curious about these highly accomplished women, you'll find lots of fun facts about them in First Ladies For Dummies. Pick up your copy to be in the know!

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From the mid-seventeenth to the mid-nineteenth century, millions of Korean men from all walks of life trained in the arts of war to prepare not for actual combat but to sit for the state military examination (mukwa). Despite this widespread interest, only for a small minority did passing the test lead to appointment as a military official. Why, then, did so many men aspire to the mukwa?Eugene Y. Park argues that the mukwa was not only the state's primary instrument for recruiting aristocrats as new members to the military bureaucracy but also a means by which the ruling elite of Seoul could partially satisfy the status aspirations of marginalized regional elites, secondary status groups, commoners, and manumitted slaves. Unlike the civil examination (munkwa), however, that assured successful examinees posts in the prestigious central bureaucracy, achievement in the mukwa did not enable them to gain political power or membership in the existing aristocracy.A wealth of empirical data and primary sources drives Park's study: a database of more than 32,000 military examination graduates; a range of new and underutilized documents such as court records, household registers, local gazetteers, private memoirs, examination rosters, and genealogies; and products of popular culture, such as p'ansori storytelling and vernacular fiction. Drawing on this extensive evidence, Park provides a comprehensive sociopolitical history of the mukwa system in late Choson Korea.

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One of the masterpieces of Latin and, indeed, world literature, Virgil's Aeneid was written during the Augustan "renaissance" of architecture, art, and literature that redefined the Roman world in the early years of the empire. This period was marked by a transition from the use of rhetoric as a means of public persuasion to the use of images to display imperial power. Taking a fresh approach to Virgil's epic poem, Riggs Alden Smith argues that the Aeneid fundamentally participates in the Augustan shift from rhetoric to imagery because it gives primacy to vision over speech as the principal means of gathering and conveying information as it recounts the heroic adventures of Aeneas, the legendary founder of Rome. Working from the theories of French phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Smith characterizes Aeneas as a voyant-visible, a person who both sees and is seen and who approaches the world through the faculty of vision. Engaging in close readings of key episodes throughout the poem, Smith shows how Aeneas repeatedly acts on what he sees rather than what he hears. Smith views Aeneas' final act of slaying Turnus, a character associated with the power of oratory, as the victory of vision over rhetoric, a triumph that reflects the ascendancy of visual symbols within Augustan society. Smith's new interpretation of the predominance of vision in the Aeneid makes it plain that Virgil's epic contributes to a new visual culture and a new mythology of Imperial Rome.

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The name elBulli is synonymous with creativity and innovation. Located in Catalonia, Spain, the three-star Michelin restaurant led the world to "molecular" or "techno-emotional" cooking and made creations, such as pine-nut marshmallows, rose-scented mozzarella, liquid olives, and melon caviar, into sensational reality. People traveled from all over the world-if they could secure a reservation during its six months of operation-to experience the wonder that chef Ferran Adria and his team concocted in their test kitchen, never offering the same dish twice. Yet elBulli's business model proved unsustainable. The restaurant converted to a foundation in 2011, and is working hard on its next revolution. Will elBulli continue to innovate? What must an organization do to create something new? Appetite for Innovation is an organizational analysis of elBulli and the nature of innovation. Pilar Opazo joined elBulli's inner circle as the restaurant transitioned from a for-profit business to its new organizational model. In this book, she compares this moment to the culture of change that first made elBulli famous, and then describes the novel forms of communication, idea mobilization, and embeddedness that continue to encourage the staff to focus and invent as a whole. She finds that the successful strategies employed by elBulli are similar to those required for innovation in art, music, business, and technology, proving the value of the elBulli model across organizations and industries.

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A new addition to expert collector Geoffrey T. Carlton's Star Wars Super Collector's Wish Book series of merchandise guides, volume 3 takes Star Wars enthusiasts into the vast galaxy of items that celebrate the beloved film franchise and pop culture juggernaut. Volume 3 unifies toys and nontoy products into a single book, covering 70,000 items released from 2011 to 2022. Also included are some of the more common and popular items, along with older pieces not previously featured in the first two volumes of the series. Through 14,000 color images and directory-style categorization, this guide provides identification and values for a vast array of Star Wars items from around the world, including art and cards, coins and stickers, party decorations, clothing, action figures, games and toys, home decor items, and much, much more. From ticket stubs to statues and ice cream wrappers to rockets, if it was made with a Star Wars logo on the package, you'll be able to find it here. In both quantity and quality, the volumes of the Star Wars Super Collector's Wish Book surpass all others to form the largest Star Wars collectibles identification and reference series ever produced. Though massive, the volumes boast an easy-to-use, directory-style format and thousands of color photographs that make them valuable and quick resource guides.

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Brought back into print in the 1990s to wide acclaim, re-designed new editions of Robert van Gulik's Judge Dee Mysteries are now available.Written by a Dutch diplomat and scholar during the 1950s and 1960s, these lively and historically accurate mysteries have entertained a devoted following for decades. Set during the T'ang dynasty, they feature Judge Dee, a brilliant and cultured Confucian magistrate disdainful of personal luxury and corruption, who cleverly selects allies to help him navigate the royal courts, politics, and ethnic tensions in imperial China. Robert van Gulik modeled Judge Dee on a magistrate of that name who lived in the seventh century, and he drew on stories and literary conventions of Chinese mystery writing dating back to the Sung dynasty to construct his ingenious plots.Murder in Canton takes place in the year 680, as Judge Dee, recently promoted to lord chief justice, is sent incognito to Canton to investigate the disappearance of a court censor. With the help of his trusted lieutenants Chiao Tai and Tao Gan, and that of a clever blind girl who collects crickets, Dee solves a complex puzzle of political intrigue and murder through the three separate subplots "the vanished censor," "the Smaragdine dancer," and "the Golden Bell."An expert on the art and erotica as well as the literature, religion, and politics of China, van Gulik also provides charming illustrations to accompany his engaging and entertaining mysteries.

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The first book-length study of the fifteen surviving Little Gidding bible concordances, this book examines the visual culture of print in seventeenth-century England through the lens of one extraordinary family and their hand-made biblical manuscripts. The volumes were created by the women of the Ferrar-Collet family of Little Gidding, who selected works from the family's collection of Catholic religious prints, and then cut and pasted prints and print fragments, along with verses excised from the bible, and composed them in artful arrangements on the page in the manner of collage. Gaudio shows that by cutting, recombining, and pasting multi-scaled print fragments, the Ferrar-Collet family put into practice a remarkably flexible pictorial language. The Little Gidding concordances provide an occasion to explore how the manipulation of print could be a means of thinking through some of the most pressing religious and political questions of the pre-civil war period: the coherence of printed scripture, the nature of sovereignty, the relevance of the Mosaic law, and the protestant reform of images. By foregrounding the Ferrar-Collets' engagement with the print fragment, this book extends the scope of early modern print history beyond the printmaker's studio and expands our understanding of the ways an early modern Protestant community could productively engage with the religious image. Contrary to the long-held view that the English Reformation led to a decline in the importance of the religious image, this study demonstrates the ongoing vitality of religious prints in early modern England as instruments for thinking.

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Evil is an intrinsically fascinating topic. In Lucifer, Jeffrey Burton Russell continues his compelling study of the personification of evil in the figure of the Devil. The previous two volumes in this remarkable tertalogy—The Devil and Satan—trace the history of the concept of the devil comparatively as it emerged in diverse cultures and followed its development in Western thought from the ancient Hebrew religion through the first five centuries of the Christian era.The present volume charts the evolution of the concept of the devil from the fifth century through the fifteenth. Drawing on an impressive array of sources from popular religion, art, literature, and drama, as well as from scholastic philosophy, mystical theology, homiletics, and hagiography, Russell provides a detailed treatment of Christian diabology in the Middle Ages. Although he focuses primarily on Western Christian thought, Russell also includes, for the sake of comparison, material on the concept of the devil in Greek Orthodoxy during the Byzantine period as well as in Muslim thought.Russell recounts how the Middle Ages saw a refinement in detail rather than a radical alteration of diabological theory. He shows that the medieval concept of the devil, fundamentally unchanged over the course of the centuries, eventually gave rise to the unyielding beliefs that resulted in the horrifying cruelties of the witch-hunting craze in the 1500s and 1600s. This major contribution to the history of the Middle Ages and to the history of religion will enlighten scholars and students alike and will appeal to anyone concerned with the problem of evil in our world.

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This volume presents vessels, fittings and other objects made in Syria, Egypt, Iraq and Yemen from the early Islamic period through to the end of the Ottoman era in the 19th century. The pieces include exquisite platters, serving-vessels, candlesticks and pen-boxes produced for royal courts, but also many beautifully decorated bronze domestic items, such as bowls, lunch-boxes, door-knockers, buckets and lamps. The metalwork traditions in this book reflect the complex history of the Arab world following the advent of Islam. The collection starts in the Late Antique period, which informed the early Islamic royal styles of the Umayyad, Abbasid and Fatimid dynasties, and goes on to trace the emergence of Mosul as a centre for metalwork in the 12th–13th centuries; the courtly Mamluk style during the Bahri period (1250–1380s); the Circassian era (1380s–1517); the growth of the European export market from the 15th century; distinctive vernacular styles in Yemen during the 14th–16th centuries; and the many revivals and fusions of international styles over six centuries of Ottoman rule (1517–1900s). Finally, an enigmatic group of zoomorphic fittings that defies easy dating is celebrated for the craftsmanship and charm of its animal figures. This beautifully illustrated volume features many important unpublished pieces and is essential reading for specialists, but it will fascinate and inform anyone with an interest in Islamic culture and history, metalwork and the decorative arts of the Arab world.With 350 illustrations

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What is a thriving, meaningful, and flourishing human life? What practices, associations, policies, and institutions support flourishing lives? These questions are not new ones. Philosophers from Buddha and Socrates onward have stressed that love of wisdom is demonstrated by living well--not by thought or theory alone but by action and practice. In light of new developments in positive psychology, psychiatry, evolutionary biology, cognitive science, and behavioral economics, these questions can be addressed with fresh insight rooted in both theory and practice. This new perspective is further supported by recent research in feminist theory, critical race studies, philosophical psychology, neuro-ethics, and more. Philosophy and Human Flourishing both draws on and charts new directions for philosophy and humanistic thought aimed at human flourishing. To reflect the fact that human lives and cultures differ, the perspectives here are refreshingly pluralistic, a commitment evident in the breadth and diversity of its highly accomplished contributors. Their expertise spans philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, evolutionary theory, cognitive science, ethics, political theory, social epistemology, education, and the arts. Each chapter is crisp, clear, and free of technical jargon. All contributors write in explicit conversation and cross-reference each other to create a volume that is cohesive and engaging. Human flourishing does not happen automatically or by default. It demands careful reflection and imagination. This book takes up and applies that reflection and imagination to the search for a flourishing life.

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What is a thriving, meaningful, and flourishing human life? What practices, associations, policies, and institutions support flourishing lives? These questions are not new ones. Philosophers from Buddha and Socrates onward have stressed that love of wisdom is demonstrated by living well--not by thought or theory alone but by action and practice. In light of new developments in positive psychology, psychiatry, evolutionary biology, cognitive science, and behavioral economics, these questions can be addressed with fresh insight rooted in both theory and practice. This new perspective is further supported by recent research in feminist theory, critical race studies, philosophical psychology, neuro-ethics, and more. Philosophy and Human Flourishing both draws on and charts new directions for philosophy and humanistic thought aimed at human flourishing. To reflect the fact that human lives and cultures differ, the perspectives here are refreshingly pluralistic, a commitment evident in the breadth and diversity of its highly accomplished contributors. Their expertise spans philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, evolutionary theory, cognitive science, ethics, political theory, social epistemology, education, and the arts. Each chapter is crisp, clear, and free of technical jargon. All contributors write in explicit conversation and cross-reference each other to create a volume that is cohesive and engaging. Human flourishing does not happen automatically or by default. It demands careful reflection and imagination. This book takes up and applies that reflection and imagination to the search for a flourishing life.

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Bob Jones University is a Christian, fundamentalist, nondenominational liberal arts school in Greenville, South Carolina. BJU was founded in 1927 by Christian evangelist Bob Jones Sr., who was against the secularization of higher education and the influence of religious liberalism in denominational colleges. For most of the twentieth century, BJU branded itself as the "World’s Most Unusual University" because of its separatist culture. Many BJU students come from fundamentalist communities and are aware of BJU’s strict rules and conservative lifestyle. So why would queer students enroll at BJU? A former queer student of BJU himself, Lance Weldy has come to terms with his own involvement with the institution and has reached out to other queer students to help represent the range of queer experience in this restrictive atmosphere. BJU and Me: Queer Voices from the World’s Most Christian University provides behind-the-scenes explanations from nineteen former BJU students from the past few decades who now identify as LGBT+. They write about their experiences, reflect on their relationships with a religious institution, and describe their vulnerability under a controlling regime. Some students hid their sexuality and graduated under the radar; others transferred to other schools but faced reparative therapy elsewhere; some endured mandatory counseling sessions on campus; while still others faced incredible obstacles after being outed by or to the BJU administration. These students give voices to their queer experiences at BJU and share their unique stories, including encounters with internal and/or external trauma and their paths to self-validation and recovery. Often their journeys led them out of fundamentalism and the BJU network entirely.

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Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) was one of the writers who defined the course of twentieth-century poetry. Her vivid, daring and complex poetry continues to captivate new generations of readers and writers. In the Letters, we discover the art of Plath's correspondence, most of which has never before been published and is here presented unabridged, without revision, so that she speaks directly in her own words. Refreshingly candid and offering intimate details of her personal life, Plath is playful, too, entertaining a wide range of addressees, including family, friends and professional contacts, with inimitable wit and verve. The letters document Plath's extraordinary literary development: the genesis of many poems, short and long fiction, and journalism. Her endeavour to publish in a variety of genres had mixed receptions, but she was never dissuaded. Through acceptance of her work, and rejection, Plath strove to stay true to her creative vision. Well-read and curious, she offers a fascinating commentary on contemporary culture. Leading Plath scholars Peter K. Steinberg and Karen V. Kukil, editor of The Journals of Sylvia Plath 1950-1962, provide comprehensive footnotes and an extensive index informed by their meticulous research. Alongside a selection of photographs and Plath's own line-drawings, the editors masterfully contextualise what the pages disclose.This selection of early correspondence marks the key moments of Plath's adolescence, including childhood hobbies and high school boyfriends; her successful but turbulent undergraduate years at Smith College; the move to England and Cambridge University; and her meeting and marrying Ted Hughes, including a trove of unseen letters post-honeymoon, revealing their extraordinary creative partnership.

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The year 2016 will mark the centennial of the birth of Albert Murray (1916–2013), who in thirteen books was by turns a lyrical novelist, a keen and iconoclastic social critic, and a formidable interpreter of jazz and blues. Not only did his prizewinning study Stomping the Blues (1976) influence musicians far and wide, it was also a foundational text for Jazz at Lincoln Center, which he cofounded with Wynton Marsalis and others in 1987. Murray Talks Music brings together, for the first time, many of Murray’s finest interviews and essays on music—most never before published—as well as rare liner notes and prefaces.For those new to Murray, this book will be a perfect introduction, and those familiar with his work—even scholars—will be surprised, dazzled, and delighted. Highlights include Dizzy Gillespie’s richly substantive 1985 conversation; an in-depth 1994 dialogue on jazz and culture between Murray and Wynton Marsalis; and a long 1989 discussion on Duke Ellington between Murray, Stanley Crouch, and Loren Schoenberg. Also interviewed by Murray are producer and impresario John Hammond and singer and bandleader Billy Eckstine. All of thse conversations were previously lost to history. A celebrated educator and raconteur, Murray engages with a variety of scholars and journalists while making insightful connections among music, literature, and other art forms—all with ample humor and from unforeseen angles.Leading Murray scholar Paul Devlin contextualizes the essays and interviews in an extensive introduction, which doubles as a major commentary on Murray’s life and work. The volume also presents sixteen never-before-seen photographs of jazz greats taken by Murray.No jazz collection will be complete without Murray Talks Music, which includes a foreword by Gary Giddins and an afterword by Greg Thomas.

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Headrests from Southern Africa - The architecture of sleep presents the subject of southern African headrests in a fascinating new light. The book, richly illustrated – often with in situ photographs, offers unique historical and personal information collected from many of the original owners and carvers of the headrests. So, for the first time African headrests are brought to life with detailed information and the stories of their creation, ownership, use and significance. The 438 headrests from the collections of Bruce Goodall from Cape Town and Frédéric Zimer from Paris are presented according to 3 geographical areas: KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo (where the Ntwane people live) and Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland). Since 2003, Goodall has made numerous field trips collecting, as well as interviewing and photographing the owners and carvers of headrests. In 2017, Goodall’s collection grew substantially with the purchase of a comprehensive collection of headrests from the Msinga area of KwaZulu-Natal. This collection had been assembled and meticulously documented by the late Anglican priest Clive Newman and his friend and assistant, Mavis Duma, between the late 1980s and the mid-2000s. The Zimer collection has been built up since the 1990s through his many travels in Africa, and his acquisitions from collectors and African art dealers around the world. This publication not only offers insight into the personal and historical dimensions of this important southern African tradition through the text written about the headrests and their owners by Bruce Goodall, but includes essays by Newman, Nel and Leibhammer and a text about collecting by Duma. Together these facilitate a penetrating understanding of these valued items as well as a respectful appreciation of the cultures and individuals who made and used them.

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You probably haven't ever noticed them. But they've noticed you. They notice everything. That's their job. Sitting quietly in a nondescript car outside a bank making note of the tellers' work habits, the positions of the security guards. Lagging a few car lengths behind the Brink's truck on its daily rounds. Surreptitiously jiggling the handle of an unmarked service door at the racetrack. They're thieves. Heisters, to be precise. They're pros, and Parker is far and away the best of them. If you're planning a job, you want him in. Tough, smart, hardworking, and relentlessly focused on his trade, he is the heister's heister, the robber's robber, the heavy's heavy. You don't want to cross him, and you don't want to get in his way, because he'll stop at nothing to get what he's after. Parker, the ruthless antihero of Richard Stark's mystery novels, is one of the most unforgettable characters in hardboiled noir. Lauded by critics for his taut realism, unapologetic amorality, and razor-sharp prose style - and adored by fans who turn each intoxicating page with increasing urgency - Stark is a master of crime writing, his books as influential as any in the genre. The University of Chicago Press has embarked on a project to return the early volumes of this series to print for a new generation of readers to discover - and become addicted to. This season's offerings include volumes 4-6 in the series: "The Mourner", "The Score", and "The Jugger". "The Mourner" is a story of convergence - of cultures and of guys with guns. Hot on the trail of a statue stolen from a fifteenth-century French tomb, Parker enters a world of eccentric art collectors, greedy foreign officials, and shady KGB agents.

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