Mieke Bal is one of Europe's leading theorists and critics. Her work within feminist art history and cultural studies provides a fascinating alternative to prevailing thinking in these fields. The essays in this collection include Bal's brilliant analyses of the:
Myth of Rembrandt
Imagery of Vermeer
Baroque of Caravaggio
Neo-Baroque of David Reed
Culture of the museum
Visual representation of rape
Closet in Proust
Bal brings a keen visual sense to these studies, as well as an understanding of how literature represents visuality and how the ethics and aesthetics present within museums affect the cultural artifacts displayed.
In his engaging commentary, eminent art historian Norman Bryson shows how Bal's original approach to the interdisciplinary study of art and visual culture has had wide- reaching influence.

From Dr Annie Gray, presenter of BBC2's Victorian Bakers

What does it mean to eat like a queen? Elizabeth gorged on sugar, Mary on chocolate and Anne was known as 'Brandy Nan'. Victoria ate all of this and more. The Greedy Queen celebrates Victoria's appetite, both for food and, indeed, for life.

Born in May 1819, Victoria came 'as plump as a partridge'. In her early years she lived on milk and bread under the Kensington system; in her old age she suffered constant indigestion yet continued to over-eat. From intimate breakfasts with the King of France, to romping at tea-parties with her children, and from state balls to her last sip of milk, her life is examined through what she ate, when and with whom. In the royal household, Victoria was surrounded by ladies-in-waiting, secretaries, dressers and coachmen, but below stairs there was another category of servant: her cooks. More fundamental and yet completely hidden, they are now uncovered in their working environment for the first time.

Voracious and adventurous in her tastes, Queen Victoria was head of state during a revolution in how we ate - from the highest tables to the most humble. Bursting with original research, The Greedy Queen considers Britain's most iconic monarch from a new perspective, telling the story of British food along the way.

When A Return to Modestywas first published in 1999, it began an important and much-needed national conversation. Wendy Shalit persuasively argued that modesty is not some hang-up we should set out to cure, but rather a wonderful instinct that, if rediscovered and given the right social support, has the power to transform society. Now, in this newly revised edition, Shalit backs up her claim with the latest trends and research to prove that the issue is just as pressing today as ever. Unfortunately, many problems Shalit originally explored, such as date rape, harassment, and most alarmingly, the sexualisation of young girls, have only become more prevalent. Where once a young woman was ashamed of her sexual experience, today she is ashamed of her sexual inexperience. And as we continue to push the limits of what is accepted behaviour, the pressure to overcome embarrassment and discard all sense of modesty is greater than ever. A Return to Modestyis a deeply personal account as well as a fascinating intellectual exploration into everything from seventeenth-century manners to the 1948 tune "Baby, It's Cold Outside." Beholden neither to social conservatives nor to feminists, Shalit reminds us that modesty is not prudery, but a natural instinct-and one that may be able to save us from ourselves.

The benefits of modern technology often involve health, safety and environmental risks that produce public suspicion of technologies and aversion to certain products and substances. Amplified by the pervasive power of the media, public concern about health and ecological risks can have enormous economic and social impacts, such as the 'stigmatization' experienced in recent years with nuclear power, British beef and genetically modified plants. This volume presents the most current and comprehensive examination of how and why stigma occurs and what the appropriate responses to it should be to inform the public and reduce undesirable impacts. Each form of stigma is thoroughly explored through a range of case studies. Theoretical contributions look at the roles played by government and business, and the crucial impact of the media in forming public attitudes. Stigma is not always misplaced, and the authors discuss the challenges involved in managing risk and reducing the vulnerability of important products, industries and institutions while providing the public with the relevant information they need about risks.

As a meeting point for world cultures, the USA is characterized by its breadth and diversity. Acknowledging that diversity is the fundamental feature of American culture, this volume is organized around a keen awareness of race, gender, class and space and with over 1,200 alphabetically-arranged entries - spanning 'the American century' from the end of World War II to the present day - the Encyclopedia provides a one-stop source for insightful and stimulating coverage of all aspects of that culture.
Entries range from short definitions to longer overview essays and with full cross-referencing, extensive indexing, and a thematic contents list, this volume provides an essential cultural context for both teachers and students of American studies, as well as providing fascinating insights into American culture for the general reader. The suggestions for further reading, which follows most entries, are also invaluable guides to more specialized sources.

Socially, politically, and artistically, the 1950s make up an odd interlude between the first half of the twentieth century-still tied to the problems and orders of the Victorian era and Gilded Age-and the pervasive transformations of the later sixties. In Revolution, Matthew Wilkens argues that postwar fiction functions as a fascinating model of revolutionary change. Uniting literary criticism, cultural analysis, political theory, and science studies, Revolution reimagines the years after World War II as at once distinct from the decades surrounding them and part of a larger-scale series of rare, revolutionary moments stretching across centuries. Focusing on the odd mix of allegory, encyclopedism, and failure that characterizes fifties fiction, Wilkens examines a range of literature written during similar times of crisis, in the process engaging theoretical perspectives from Walter Benjamin and Fredric Jameson to Bruno Latour and Alain Badiou alongside readings of major novels by Ralph Ellison, William Gaddis, Doris Lessing, Jack Kerouac, Thomas Pynchon, and others. Revolution links the forces that shaped postwar fiction to the dynamics of revolutionary events in other eras and social domains. Like physicists at the turn of the twentieth century or the French peasantry of 1789, midcentury writers confronted a world that did not fit their existing models. Pressed to adapt but lacking any obvious alternative, their work became sprawling and figurative, accumulating unrelated details and reusing older forms to ambiguous new ends. While the imperatives of the postmodern eventually gave order to this chaos, Wilkens explains that the same forces are again at work in today's fracturing literary market.

Several researchers have found that "self-esteem" is definitely not the "cure all" solution to our social ills. On the contrary, promoting self-esteem may produce negative consequences. Excessive promotion of the self may be the basis for various forms of discrimination in our modern, multicultural society. It takes others to know the self and the self needs others to succeed in life. Self-esteem is incomplete without other-esteem.
"Other Esteem" is a creative, unique, and unconventional response to our society's apparent obsession with promoting the self. The book is unique in that it is a direct challenge to the widespread belief that low self-esteem is at the root of all social ills. It describes the importance of respect, tolerance, group effort, and connection with others to the health of the individual and gives concrete steps for individuals to take action by consciously changing their own attitudes.
"Other Esteem" will become essential reading for multicultural relations courses and any seminar where self-esteem is taught. It will also be useful in many other courses in counseling, human development, and student affairs and leadership.

This unique study of Turkmen women and their folk songs looks at religion, ritual and family as seen through the eyes of the women and their songs.

Paul de Man's work is key to the American deconstruction movement and to the so-called political turn in critical theory. Seventeen years after his death, his works continue to arouse violent reactions among critics. This book explains why de Man is such an important voice, detailing his critical position, exploring his intellectual and historical contexts, tracing the influence of his work and enabling readers to undertake independent study of his criticism.

Related link: www.literature.routledge.com/literature/r ct/default.html

The purpose of this edited volume is to explore the contributions of women to European, Mexican, American and Indian film industries during the years 1900 to 1950, an important period that signified the rise and consolidation of media technologies. Their pioneering work as film stars, writers, directors, designers and producers as well as their endeavors to bridge the gap between the avant-garde and mass culture are significant aspects of this collection. This intersection will be carefully nuanced through their cinematographic production, performances and artistic creations. Other distinctive features pertain to the interconnection of gender roles and moral values with ways of looking, which paves the way for realigning social and aesthetic conventions of femininity. Based on this thematic and diverse sociocultural context, this study has an international scope, their main audiences being scholars and graduate students that pursue to advance interdisciplinary research in the field of feminist theory, film, gender, media and avant-garde studies. Likewise, historians, art and literature specialists will find the content appealing to the degree that intermedial and cross-cultural approaches are presented.

Small Comrades is a fascinating examination of Soviet conceptions of childhood and the resulting policies directed toward young children. This book offers some tentative answers to the questions, 'What did children make of the Revolution?' and 'What did the Revolution make of them?' This project emphasises young children as the subjects of policies and politics in their own right. It draws on work that has been done on Soviet schooling, and focuses specifically on the development of curricula and institutions, it also examines the wider context of the relationship between the family and the state, and to the Bolshevik vision of the 'children of October.'

eBook available with sample pages: PB:0815339453

Art is always ambiguous. When it involves the female body it can also be erotic. Erotic Ambiguities is a study of how women artists working over the past thirty years have reconceptualised the figure of the female nude. Helen McDonald discusses the work of a wide range of women artists, including Barbara Kruger, Judy Chicago, Mary Duffy, Zoe Leonard, Tracey Moffat, Pat Barrington and Sally Smart, to show how artists have employed the idea of ambiguity to dismantle the classical ideal enshrined in the figure of the nude, and how they have broadened the scope of this ideal to include differences of race, ethnicity, sexuality and disability as well as gender.

The author_s principal objective in publishing these essays was to present all the materials for impartial judgment of the scriptures and religion of the Parsis. Contents: Essay I. History of the Researches into the Sacred Writings and Religion of the Parsis; Essay II. Languages of the Parsi Scriptures; Essay III. The Zend-Avesta, or the Scripture of the Parsis; and Essay IV. The Zoroastrian Religion as to its Origin and Development. A biographical memoir of Dr. Haug by Professor E.P. Evans is also included in this volume.

* GORGEOUSLY ILLUSTRATED: Each of the 40 cards in this oracle deck is vibrantly illustrated with original artwork; let The Snake Charmer (of VMAs fame) inspire you to face your fears, or the The Ringleader (of the "Circus" video) lead you to call the shots-these and many more Britney oracles in this one-of-a-kind set celebrate the superstar in her greatest moments from her music videos, stage performances, and more * DELUXE SET: This set includes 40 full-color illustrated cards (3 x 5 inches), shrink wrapped in an interior travel case; an 88-page, full-color illustrated paperback book (3 x 5 inches); and a keepsake magnetic closure box; cards and travel case are embedded in an interior tray * FULLY ILLUSTRATED ORACLE GUIDEBOOK: This set includes a full-color illustrated companion book to the card deck, providing the back story of each oracle and a dose of inspiration * PERFECT GIFT: This joyful, beautiful oracle deck and book set is an ideal gift for the most fabulous people in your life, for birthdays, Mother's Day, graduation, or any occasion at all * OFFICIALLY LICENSED: Set is officially licensed with Britney Brands, Inc A note on packaging: In order to help honor our planet and reduce waste, we have only shrink wrapped the interior cards, rather than the keepsake box. Please feel confident that your product is not defective or used.

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book offers an exciting look at the important and often uneasy place of philosophy in cultural theory today. In the United States and Britain, cultural studies has taken a largely non-philosophical form. Yet, in its hostility to disciplinary boundaries and its search for theoretical generality, cultural studies has much in common with a philosophical tradition of totalization from which it has historically distanced itself. Throughout, Osborne shows how and why concepts currently popular in cultural theory have brought philosophical questions to center stage. He discusses many important thinkers who have straddled the philosophy-cultural divide such as Benjamin, Adorno, Jameson, and Clement Greenberg.

The Critical Dictionary of Film and Television Theory clearly and accessibly explains the major theoretical approaches now deployed in the study of the moving image, as well as defining key theoretical terms.
This dictionary provides readers with the conceptual apparatus to understand the often daunting language and terminology of screen studies. Entries include: *audience * Homi K. Bhabha * black cinema * the body * children and media * commodification * cop shows * deep focus * Umberto Eco * the gaze * Donna Haraway * bell hooks * infotainment * master narrative * medical dramas * morpheme * myth * panopticon * pastiche * pleasure * real time * social realism * sponsorship * sport on television * subliminal * third cinema * virtual reality
Consultant Editors:
David Black, USA, William Urricchio, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, Gill Branston, Cardiff University,
UK ,Elayne Rapping, USA

The original publication of The Tourist-Historic City in 1990 reflected the growing importance of heritage to cities, and cities to the creation and marketing of heritage products, not least within tourism. In response to the continuing rapid growth of interest in this field, the concepts and models it introduced have subsequently been applied by urban planners and tourism managers in many different contexts throughout the world. This extensively rewritten and restructured account of the tourist-historic city takes into consideration the importance of these applications in reformulating and modifying theoretical concepts, developing practical methods of analysis and policy formulation, as well as extending the geographical scope worldwide. Changes in the last decade include not only the growing importance of heritage and associated heritage industries serving many social, political and economic users, but also the expanding role of cultural products within tourism. In addition, the opening up of central and eastern Europe and the export of heritage ideas from western cities to a wider world have emphasised the tension between a globalisation and a localisation of heritage and its expression in the tourist-historic city.
In addition to detailed reworking of conceptual and case material, this book reviews theoretical developments triggered by or otherwise related to the original, extends the arguments into the post-Communist world, and more generally develops them with respect to countries most affected by the 1990s political transformations. The result is a review of the state of urban heritage tourism at the turn of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in the light of theextraordinary developments during the preceding decade, and of its prospects for the years to come.

Contents:
1. Introduction PART ONE: 2. Cultural Criminology 3. From Carnival to the Carnival of Crime (with Gavin Carter) 4. Commodification, Consumption and Crime PART TWO: Hurt, Humiliation and Crime as Popular Pleasure 6. The Criminalisation of Consent: The Case of S&M 7. Rap and Rave and the Criminalisation of Youth 8. The Carnival and the Performing of Crime: Young People, Knives and Other Weapons 9. Senseless Acts: The Harbouring and Harvesting of Hate

Cultural Criminology and the Carnival of Crime attempts to make sense of the current increase in violence, cruelty, hate and humiliation, which has come to permeate daily life. The text argues that an overly organised economic world has provoked a widespread desire for extreme, oppositional forms of popular and personal pleasure. This desire has resulted in a cathartic 'second life' of illicit pleasures often deemed criminal by those in power. Amongst the exciting issues Mike Presdee addresses are:
* joyriding
* street crime
* antisocial behaviour in private via the internet
* hate, hurt and humiliation in popular culture
* the popularisation and criminalisation of sadomasochism and dance music cultures.

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

An introduction to Japanese spiritual civilization,its significance and realization; Nichirenism (the true Mahayana Buddhism) and Japanese national principles.

From the New York Times bestselling author of I'm Judging You, a hilarious and transformational book about how to tackle fear--that everlasting hater--and audaciously step into lives, careers, and legacies that go beyond even our wildest dreams

Luvvie Ajayi Jones is known for her trademark wit, warmth, and perpetual truth-telling. But even she's been challenged by the enemy of progress known as fear. She was once afraid to call herself a writer, and nearly skipped out on doing a TED talk that changed her life because of imposter syndrome. As she shares in Professional Troublemaker, she's not alone.

We're all afraid. We're afraid of asking for what we want because we're afraid of hearing "no." We're afraid of being different, of being too much or not enough. We're afraid of leaving behind the known for the unknown. But in order to do the things that will truly, meaningfully change our lives, we have to become professional troublemakers: people who are committed to not letting fear talk them out of the things they need to do or say to live free.

With humor and honesty, and guided by the influence of her professional troublemaking Nigerian grandmother, Funmilayo Faloyin, Luvvie walks us through what we must get right within ourselves before we can do the things that scare us; how to use our voice for a greater good; and how to put movement to the voice we've been silencing--because truth-telling is a muscle.

The point is not to be fearless, but to know we are afraid and charge forward regardless. It is to recognize that the things we must do are more significant than our fears. This book is about how to live boldly in spite of all the reasons we have to cower. Let's go!