In the context of dramatically changing contemporary patterns of mate selection in China, Mate Selection in China focuses upon both the causes and consequences the societal changes which have resulted in a considerable shift in the ways in which young adults go about finding a spouse. Tracking a period of change, from a long history of patriarchal families and arranged marriages, into an environment wherein individuals are relatively free to choose their intimate partners, Blair, Madison and Fang demonstrate and analyse how recent shifts in divorce, cohabitation, and pre-marital sex have altered young adults' perceptions of marriage. Delving into demographic factors, such as the skewed sex ratio among young adults which have resulted in an overabundance of young males, cultural factors, such as increasingly individualistic forms of dating, and social and economic change which has resulted an increasingly materialistic middle-class, this book highlights that while traditional influence of parents in the selection of partners for their children has been overtaken, mate selection choices are not entirely made by the individuals themselves. Providing a comprehensive examination of mate selection within an ever-changing context, this book is a fascinating read for scholars interested in the impact of culture of family and marriage.

"With her trademark brio and deep-tissue understanding, Maria Tatar opens the glass casket on this undying story, which retains its power to charm twenty-one times, and counting." -Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked The story of the rivalry between a beautiful, innocent girl and her cruel and jealous mother has been endlessly repeated and refashioned all over the world. The Brothers Grimm gave this story the name by which we know it best, and in 1937 Walt Disney sweetened their somber version to make the first feature-length, animated fairy tale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Since then, the Disney film has become our cultural touchstone-the innocent heroine, her evil stepmother, the envy that divides them, and a romantic rescue from domestic drudgery and maternal persecution. But each culture has its own way of telling this story of jealousy and competition. An acclaimed folklorist, Maria Tatar brings to life a global melodrama of mother-daughter rivalries that play out in unforgettable variations across countries and cultures. "Fascinating...A strange, beguiling history of stories about beauty, jealousy, and maternal persecution." -Wall Street Journal "Is the story of Snow White the cruelest, the deepest, the strangest, the most mythopoeic of them all?...Tatar trains a keen eye on the appeal of the bitter conflict between women at the heart of the tale...a feast of rich thoughts...An exciting and authoritative anthology from the wisest good fairy in the world of the fairy tale." -Marina Warner "The inimitable Maria Tatar offers us a maze of mothers and daughters and within that glorious tangle an archetype with far more meaning than we imagine when we say 'Snow White.'" -Honor Moore "Shocking yet familiar, these stories...retain the secret whisper of storytelling. This is a properly magical, erudite book." -Literary Review

First published in 2005. This definitive work contains a collection of texts written at the time when Chivalry was a living tradition spread across the whole of Europe. In it are fascinating accounts of Chivalry's history and origins, the education of knights, chivalric love and the religious and military orders of knighthood. Nowhere else are the facts of Chivalry brough together so brilliantly.

The Mesopotamian influence on Greek mythology in literary works of the epic period is considerable - yet it is a largely unexplored field. In this book Charles Penglase investigates major Mesopotamian and Greek myths. His examination concentrates on journey myths. A major breakthrough is achieved in the recognition of the extent of Mesopotamian influence and in the understanding of the colourful myths involved.
The results are of significant interest, especially to scholars and students of ancient Greek and Near Eastern religion and mythology.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203443918

This book describes how the theory and pursuit of folklore evolved in England and were transported throughout the British Isles, the British Empire, and the world at large. It shows the intimate bonds between the culture of the folk and the history of England.

From a cantankerous brownie in Dolphinton to the vampire with iron teeth who terrorised Glasgow, this collection of tales spans fourteen centuries of Lanarkshire's history and happenings. Here you will find the legends of William Wallace's love and loss in Lanark and Saint Mungo's bitter feud with the Pagan hierarchy and Druids, alongside totemic animals, unique Scottish flora and fauna, warlocks, herb-wives and elfin trickery. Allison Galbraith combines storytelling expertise with two decades of folklore research to present this beguiling collection of Lanarkshire stories, suitable for adults and older children.

Do you think that legends are all about princes and princesses, knights and heroes, giants and monsters? Well, they aren't always. The stories in this book are about girls like you and girls you might know: clever, strong, brave and resourceful. Here you can read the story of Vasilisa, who wasn't afraid of the deep dark forest; Mollie Whuppie, who knew how to trick a giant; Tipingi, who was able to call on her friends to help her get out of trouble; Seren, who used her love of singing to help others; and many more fearless characters. Storyteller Fiona Collins has chosen the best of the old tales from all around the world and reworked them into new and exciting versions to be enjoyed by everyone, accompanied by magical illustrations by talented artist Ed Fisher.

Sociology on the Menu is a comprehensive introduction to the sociology of food. Highlighting the social and cultural dimensions of the human food system, from production to consumption, it encourages us to consider new ways of thinking about the apparently mundane, everyday act of eating. The main areas covered include:
* The origins of human subsistence and the development of the modern food system
* Food, the family and eating out
* Diet, health and the body image
* The meanings of meat and vegetarianism.
Sociology on the Menu provides a comprehensive overview of the literature in this field, and it focuses on key texts and studies.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203428714

Histories of witchcraft continue to fascinate us in the late twentieth century. Looking at texts from colonial narratvies to court masques, trial records to folktales, and Shakespeare to Sylvia Plath, this book shows how the witch acts as a carrier for the fears, desires and fantasies of women and men both now and in the early modern period.
Among other topics, The Witch in History discusses:
* the way the fantasy body of the witch, viewed as both hard and boundless, represents fear of the maternal body;
* how Macbeth and other Renaissance dramas are exploitative and sensationalist representations of witchcraft;
* how the representations of witchcraft in Europe were influenced by encounters in the New World with Native American religion, and vice versa;
* how radical feminists, modern witches and academic historians have appropriated the figure of the witch to construct their own identities. This extraordinary and fascinating study goes beyond the exploration of the figure of the witch, comprising an innovative contribution to all early modern studies.

Related link: Reviews in History
eBook available with sample pages: 0203359720

This study discusses early Christian texts dealing with food, eating and fasting. Modern day eating disorders often equate food with sin and see fasting as an attempt to regain purity, an attitude which can also be observed in early Chritian beliefs in the mortification of the flesh. Describing first the historical and social context of Judaism and the Graeco-Roman world, the author then proceeds to analyze Christian attitudes towards food. Thus, a particular Christian mode of fasting is elaborated which influences us to the present day: ascetic fasting for the suppression of the sexual urges of the body. The book should be of use to those interested in early Christianity, and to those searching for historical roots of modern attitudes.

Designed for professionals, this handbook focuses on the impact of patients religion snd spirituality. It presents the identity empowerment theory, a clinical sociological theory, and includes case studies and intervention strategies. The ten concepts of this theory show how identity can be expressed in the value of choices: self; dyad; triad; family; religion; definition of situation; reference group; class culture and society.

This volume is a study of the female aspect of religion both in past and present mythologies. It explores the function and nature of goddesses and their cults in many cultures, including Celtic, Roman, Norse, Caucasian and Japanese traditions. The contributors explore the reasons for the existence of so many goddesses in the mythological traditions of largely patriarchal societies. They demonstrate how, in many myths, the female deity is seen as more ambivalent than her male counterparts, curing and cursing at whim. They show goddesses do not play primarily "feminine" roles in myths; war, hunting and sovereignty being equally important aspects of their cults.

First published in 1992. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In Masculinity and Dress in Roman Antiquity, Olson argues that clothing functioned as part of the process of communication by which elite male influence, masculinity, and sexuality were made known and acknowledged, and furthermore that these concepts interconnected in socially significant ways. This volume also sets out the details of masculine dress from literary and artistic evidence and the connection of clothing to rank, status, and ritual. This is the first monograph in English to draw together the myriad evidence for male dress in the Roman world, and examine it as evidence for men's self-presentation, status, and social convention.

Bees existed long before human beings, but our future is perhaps more reliant upon them than any other species. They pollinate 80 per cent of the world's crops and plants, but how much do we really know about them? Small, clever and mysterious, the honeybee in particular has long been celebrated in human culture as a sacred insect, a symbol of the sun, bridging the gap between our world and the next. They are expert communicators, skilled aviators and natural alchemists, turning fresh nectar into sweet, golden honey. They are also in trouble and need our help. This beautifully illustrated guide explores the honeybee's historic relationship with humans, the basics of beekeeping, and how we can help save the bees' dwindling population.

If the head is religion, the gut is magic. Taking up this provocation, this Element delves into the digestive system within transnational Afro-Diasporic religions such as Haitian Vodou, Brazilian Candomble, and Cuban Lucumi (also called Santeria). It draws from the ethnographic and archival record to probe the abdomen as a vital zone of sensory perception, amplified in countless divination verses, myths, rituals, and recipes for ethnomedical remedies. Provincializing the brain as only one locus of reason, it seeks to expand the notion of 'mind' and expose the anti-Blackness that still prevents Black Atlantic knowledges from being accepted as such. The Element examines gut feelings, knowledge, and beings in the belly; African precedents for the Afro-Diasporic gut-brain axis; post-sacrificial offerings in racist fantasy and everyday reality; and the strong stomachs and intestinal fortitude of religious ancestors. It concludes with a reflection on kinship and the spilling of guts in kitchenspaces.

Fashion fanatics with a passion for the past will find a smorgasbord of wearable oldies in this new study by an expert in twentieth century fashion. Focusing on the great styles that emerged from the diverse eras between 1925 and 1965, the text places the clothing in its cultural habitat while more than 350 beautiful color photographs demonstrate the quality fabrics, dynamic designs, and careful workmanship that made the clothing last, both in condition and popularity. Chapters cover couture designers whose vintage clothes can be found on the market today, with chronologically arranged coats, suits, dresses, lingerie, handbags, shoes, and hats. The hats chapter has a unique and especially useful pictorial dating guide. Vintage Style was written for museum curators and preservationists, students and fashion designers, dealers, collectors, costumers, and reenactors-everyone who lives for fashion!

Featuring three original and 14 classic essays, this volume examines literary representations of women in Arthuriana and how women artists have viewed them. The essays discuss the female characters in Arthurian legend, medieval and modern readers of the legend, modern critics and the modern women writers who have recast the Arthurian inheritance, and finally women visual artists who have used the material of the Arthurian story. All the essays concentrate interpretation on a female creator and the work. This collection contains a useful bibliography of material devoted to female characters in Arthurian literature.

This is the first edited collection of its kind to analyse the distinct but overlapping topics of dress, costume, sport and leisure history. For researchers of bodily adornment and movement, sport and costume history are both primarily concerned with industrial practice and embodied experience. The ways in which bodies are adorned, embellished and clothed (or revealed) highlights the hybrid nature of dress history, encompassing as it does the everyday clothing solutions of the mass of people and the unusual or more ceremonial aspects of costume, as well as elite high fashion. Although this is as yet an under-researched area, there are an increasing number of fashion and clothing undergraduate and postgraduate courses that specialise in sport and leisurewear. This publication is intended to give an introductory overview of the historical and contemporary issues as it does for the growing number of sport marketing and sports studies courses concerned with dress, costume history and branding. This book was published as a special issue of Sport in History.

Infibulation is the most extreme form of female circumcision. It plays an important role in the Islamic societies of northeastern Africa. Until now, the social significance and function of this practice has been poorly understood. This has been no less true of Western commentators who have condemned the practice than of relevant governments that have attempted to curb it. In Infibulation, Esther K. Hicks analyzes female circumcision as a cultural trait embedded in a historically traditional milieu and shows why it cannot be treated in isolation as a single issue destined for elimination. In its brief history it has been recognized as a pioneering piece of research with enormous consequences.

As Hicks demonstrates, much of the popular resistance to official efforts to eradicate infibulation has actually come from women. Circumcision constitutes a rite of passage for female children. It initiates them into womanhood and makes them eligible for marriage. Often, this is the only positive status position available to women in traditional Islamic societies. Hicks points out that although female circumcision predates the introduction of Islam into the region, the religious culture has successfully codified infibulation into the structural nexus of marriage, family, and social honor at all socioeconomic levels.

First Published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

May Edel's The Chiga of Uganda is in the grand tradition of Franz Boas, Margaret Mead, and Leslie Spier. Written at a time when older ways were menaced by contact with other cultures, Edel's effort was part of a descriptive urgency that aimed to capture the past before the past disappeared. And that past should be viewed from the perspective of the people themselves, by students going into the field to observe, question, and report. This book is an enlarged and amplified edition of The Chiga of Western Uganda published in 1957 by the Oxford University Press for the International African Institute. It is enlarged by a major section on material culture hitherto unpublished.

The Chiga of Uganda provides a special insight into a culture at that time (1933) still intact under the British protectorate. It is for the most part a picture of life as it was then still being lived. Where significant changes were already taking place, the various changes are discussed in the contexts in which they seemed relevant--in social structure, kinship, marriage, economics, social control, religion, and education.

What makes this edition unique is the new segment on material culture. This delves into Chiga patterns of food supply and preparation, horticulture, fire and heating, water supplies, cattle raising, hunting, fishing, and problems related to shelter, clothing, and hygiene. Two new special sections deal with tools and utensils, and, no less important, the physical skills and motor habits of the people. Edel's concrete yet wide-ranging descriptions provide an irreplaceable insight into a people and a culture at a unique point in world and colonial history.

The new introduction, written by Abraham Edel, provides a special sort of insight, drawing heavily upon the correspondence that May Edel wrote at the time. The introduction shows how the clouds of war and Nazism in Europe at the time were already changing the character and context of anthropology no less than every other area of human endeavor. A final new aspect of The Chiga of Uganda is May Edel's last reflections focusing on African tribalism, which turns out to be not all that different from ethnic and national rivalries in the Western world. This book will be indispensable to anthropologists, Africanists, and historians.

This text contains descriptions of the Japanese enthronement ceremonies. It covers the rituals, costumes, offerings, equipment, music, seating plans and buildings in which the ceremonies are held, giving their present function and past history. It examines the underlying importance of the rites.

Written by an international team of over 130 authorities, no other work approaches this A-Z guide to the legends of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table for breadth and depth of coverage. It is the ultimate resource for reliable information on topics as diverse as the Grail, Tristan and Isolde, Lancelot and Guenevere, Arthurian operas, the historicity of Arthur and much more.

Examining the origins of the Arthurian legend and major trends in the portrayal of Arthur from the Middle Ages to the present, this collection focuses on discussion of literature written in English, French, Latin, and German. Its 16 essays, four published here for the first time, deal with such matters as the search for the historical Arthur; the depiction of Arthur in the romances "Erec" and "Iwein" of Hartmann von Aue; the way Arthur is depicted in 19th-century art and the Victorian view of manhood; and conceptions of King Arthur in 20th-century literature. Six of the essays, originally published in French and German, are translated into English especially for this book. Two essays have been substantially revised. An introduction offers a general discussion of the development of the legends in the countries of Europe.
Works discussed include medieval and Renaissance chronicles (Geoffrey of Monmouth's "Historia Regum Britanniae," Wace's "Roman de Brut," Polydore Vergil's Anglica Historia, Scottish vernacular and Latin chronicles), medieval romances (the "Lancelot en prose," the "Mort Artu," the Post-Vulgate "Roman du" "Graal," and works of Chretien de Troyes, Hartmann von Aue, and Sir Thomas Malory), Spenser's "Faerie Queene," Tennyson's "Idylls of the King," and T.H. White's "Once and Future King." A bibliography lists selected major secondary studies of King Arthur as well as major reference works.