"One of the season's most talked about cultural studies" ("Los Angeles" "Times")--an incisive and irreverent appreciation of nerds that combines history, sociology, psychology, and memoir from noted journalist and self-proclaimed nerd Ben Nugent.
Most people know a nerd when they see one, but yet can't define just what a nerd is exactly. "American Nerd: The Story of My People "gives readers the history of" "the concept of nerdiness and its related subcultures. What makes Dr. Frankenstein the archetypal nerd? Where did the modern jock come from? When and how did being a self-described nerd become trendy? As the nerd emerged in the nineteenth century, and popped up again and again in college humor journals and sketch comedy, our culture obsessed over the phenomenon.
"Part history, part memoir, and all funny" ("GQ"), "American Nerd" is critically acclaimed writer Benjamin Nugent's entertaining fact-finding mission. He seeks the best definition of nerd and illuminates the common ground between nerd subcultures that might seem unrelated: high-school debate team kids and ham radio enthusiasts, medieval reenactors and pro-circuit videogame players. Why do the same people who like to work with computers also enjoy playing Dungeons & Dragons? How are those activities similar? This clever, enlightening book will appeal to the nerd (and anti-nerd) that lives inside everyone.

Say the words "evangelical worship" to anyone in the United States - even if they are not particularly religious - and a picture will likely spring to mind unbidden: a mass of white, middle-class worshippers with eyes closed, faces tilted upward, and hands raised to the sky. Yet despite the centrality of this image, many scholars have underestimated evangelical worship as little more than a manipulative effort to arouse devotional exhilaration. It is frequently dismissed as a reiteration of nineteenth-century revivalism or a derivative imitation of secular entertainment - three Christian rock songs and a spiritual TED talk. But by failing to engage this worship seriously, we miss vital insights into a form of Protestantism that exerts widespread influence in the United States and around the world. Evangelical Worship offers a new way forward in the study of American evangelical Christianity. Weaving together insights from American religious history and liturgical studies, and drawing on extensive fieldwork in seven congregations, Melanie C. Ross brings contemporary evangelical worship to life. She argues that corporate worship is not a peripheral "extra" tacked on to a fully-formed spiritual, political, and cultural movement, but rather the crucible through which congregations forge, argue over, and enact their unique contributions to the American mosaic known as evangelicalism.

Imagining Latinidad examines how Latin American migrants use technology for public engagement, social activism, and to build digital, diasporic communities. Thanks to platforms like Facebook and YouTube, immigrants from Latin America can stay in contact with the culture they left behind. Members of these groups share information related to their homeland through discussions of food, music, celebrations, and other cultural elements. Despite their physical distance, these diasporic virtual communities are not far removed from the struggles in their homelands, and migrant activists play a central role in shaping politics both in their home country and in their host country. Contributors are: Amanda Arrais, Karla Castillo Villapudua, David S. Dalton, Jason H. Dormady, Carmen Gabriela Febles, Alvaro Gonzalez Alba, Yunuen Ysela Mandujano-Salazar, Anna Marta Marini, Diana Denisse Merchant Ley, Covadonga Lamar Prieto, Maria del Pilar Ramirez Groebli, David Ramirez Plascencia, Jessica Retis, Nancy Rios-Contreras, and Patria Roman-Velazquez.

What do you do when you are a newcomer in a cultural group and you must find your way? From the perspective of an ethnographer of communication, one of the most effective strategies you can take is to go from the inside out. Exploring Cultural Communication from the Inside Out: An Ethnographic Toolkit is a workbook that offers readers a hands-on approach to navigating new cultural environments. The text helps readers develop richer and more nuanced understandings not only of the different cultures they are members of but also their own roles in an increasingly multicultural and global society. The book is grounded in an interpretive theoretical/methodological framework of the ethnography of communication and speech codes theory, and guides readers through the process of applying this framework to any setting of their choice. Throughout, the text introduces theoretical concepts and pairs them with applied activities that require readers to engage in ethical fieldwork, data collection, and analysis. Readers are then challenged to document their experience, communicate what they have learned, and participate in deep reflection. Featuring a unique methodology and highly practical information, Exploring Cultural Communication from the Inside Out is exemplary for courses in intercultural communication, language and culture, sociolinguistics, and communication research.

As we come upon the 30th anniversary of communism's fall, it is a good time to reexamine what life was like behind the Iron Curtain and how communism impacted people for generations. The study of communication is important as it shows how much effect government type has on the principles its people support. Those interested in promoting and maintaining democratic ideals in countries around the world require a book such as this to better understand the effect communism has had. Impact of Political Socialization on the Support for Democratic Principles: Emerging Research and Opportunities examines life under communism in Czechoslovakia and Hungary with particular attention paid to education, religion, travel, and exposure to Western culture, as well as their transition to democracy and how successful that transition has been. The book makes the case that being politically socialized under communism has made embracing democratic principles more difficult. The evidence for this case is based on 200 interviews conducted in 2017-18 with people who lived in Czechoslovakia and Hungary during communism, present-day analysis of government and politics in the Czech Republic and Hungary, and survey data from the European Social Survey. The main struggles in transitioning to democracy are identified, and it is speculated whether the Czech Republic and Hungary can ever be long-term, fully functioning democracies. The main implications of this publication are how government type during political socialization affects support for democratic principles, and whether the United States could ever be at risk for democratic erosion. The book is intended for political scientists, government officials, historians, academicians, researchers, and students.

Further Developments in the Theory and Practice of Cybercartography, Third Edition, Volume Nine, presents a substantively updated edition of a classic text on cybercartography, presenting new and returning readers alike with the latest advances in the field. The book examines the major elements of cybercartography and embraces an interactive, dynamic, multisensory format with the use of multimedia and multimodal interfaces. Material covering the major elements, key ideas and definitions of cybercartography is newly supplemented by several chapters on two emerging areas of study, including international dimensions and language mapping. This new edition delves deep into Mexico, Brazil, Denmark, Iran and Kyrgyzstan, demonstrating how insights emerge when cybercartography is applied in different cultural contexts. Meanwhile, other chapters contain case studies by a talented group of linguists who are breaking new ground by applying cybercartography to language mapping, a breakthrough that will provide new ways of understanding the distribution and movement of language and culture.