Punishing the Black Body examines the punitive and disciplinary technologies and ideologies embraced by ruling white elites in nineteenth-century Barbados and Jamaica. Among studies of the Caribbean on similar topics, this is the first to look at the meanings inscribed on the raced, gendered, and classed bodies on the receiving end of punishment. Dawn P. Harris uses theories of the body to detail the ways colonial states and their agents appropriated physicality to debase the black body, assert the inviolability of the white body, and demarcate the social boundaries between them.,br> Noting marked demographic and geographic differences between Jamaica and Barbados, as well as any number of changes within the separate economic, political, and social trajectories of each island, Harris still finds that societal infractions by the subaltern populations of both islands brought on draconian forms of punishments aimed at maintaining the socio-racial hierarchy. Her investigation ranges across such topics as hair-cropping, the 1836 Emigration Act of Barbados and other punitive legislation, the state reprisals following the 1865 Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica, the use of the whip and the treadmill in jails and houses of correction, and methods of surveillance, policing, and limiting free movement. By focusing on meanings ascribed to the disciplined and punished body, Harris reminds us that the transitions between slavery, apprenticeship, and post-emancipation were not just a series of abstract phenomena signaling shifts in the prevailing order of things. For a large part of these islands' populations, these times of dramatic change were physically felt.

Twenty years ago Ukraine gained its independence and started on a path towards a free market economy and democratic governance. After four successive presidents and the Orange Revolution, the question of exactly which national model Ukraine should embrace remains an open question. Constructing the Narratives of Identity and Power provides a comprehensive outlook on Ukraine as it is presented through the views of intellectual and political elites. Based on extensive field work in Ukraine, Karina V. Korostelina describes the complex process of nation building. Despite the prevailing belief in a divide between two parts of Ukraine and an overwhelming variety of incompatible visions, Korostelina reveals seven prevailing conceptual models of Ukraine and five dominant narratives of national identity. Constructing the Narratives of Identity and Power analyzes the practice of national self-imagination. Karina V. Korostelina puts forward a structural-functional model of national narratives that describes three major components, dualistic order, mythic narratives, and normative order, and two main functions of national narratives, the development of the meaning of national identity and the legitimization of power. Korostelina describes the differences and conflicting elements of the national narratives that constitute the contested arena of nation-building in Ukraine.

A transnational study of Asian performance shaped by the homoerotics of orientalism, Brown Boys and Rice Queens focuses on the relationship between the white man and the native boy. Eng-Beng Lim unpacks this as the central trope for understanding colonial and cultural encounters in 20th and 21st century Asia and its diaspora. Using the native boy as a critical guide, Lim formulates alternative readings of a traditional Balinese ritual, postcolonial Anglophone theatre in Singapore, and performance art in Asian America. Tracing the transnational formation of the native boy as racial fetish object across the last century, Lim follows this figure as he is passed from the hands of the colonial empire to the postcolonial nation-state to neoliberal globalization. Read through such figurations, the traffic in native boys among white men serves as an allegory of an infantilized and emasculated Asia, subordinate before colonial whiteness and modernity. Pushing further, Lim addresses the critical paradox of this entrenched relationship that resides even within queer theory itself by formulating critical interventions around "Asian performance." Eng-Beng Lim is Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies at Brown University, and a faculty affiliate of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, Department of East Asian Studies, and Department of American Studies. He is also a Gender and Sexuality Studies board member at the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women. In the Sexual Cultures series

From stories of biblical patriarchs and matriarchs and their children, through the Gospel's Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and to modern Jewish families in fiction, film, and everyday life, the family has been considered key to transmitting Jewish identity. Current discussions about the Jewish family's supposed traditional character and its alleged contemporary crisis tend to assume that the dynamics of Jewish family life have remained constant from the days of Abraham and Sarah to those of Tevye and Golde in Fiddler on the Roof and on to Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint. Jonathan Boyarin explores a wide range of scholarship in Jewish studies to argue instead that Jewish family forms and ideologies have varied greatly throughout the times and places where Jewish families have found themselves. He considers a range of family configurations from biblical times to the twenty-first century, including strictly Orthodox communities and new forms of family, including same-sex parents. The book shows the vast canvas of history and culture as well as the social pressures and strategies that have helped shape Jewish families, and suggests productive ways to think about possible futures for Jewish family forms.

Does the internet facilitate social and political change, or even democratization, in the Middle East? Despite existing research on this subject, there is still no consensus on the importance of social media and online platforms, or on how we are to understand their influence. This book provides empirical analysis of the day-to-day use of online platforms by activists in Egypt and Kuwait. The research evaluates the importance of online platforms for effecting change and establishes a specific framework for doing so. Egypt and Kuwait were chosen because, since the mid-2000s, they have been the most prominent Arab countries in terms of online and offline activism. In the context of Kuwait, Jon Nordenson examines the oppositional youth groups who fought for a constitutional, democratic monarchy in the emirate. In Egypt, focus surrounds the groups and organizations working against sexual violence and sexual harassment. Online Activism in the Middle East shows how and why online platforms are used by activists and identifies the crucial features of successful online campaigns. Egypt and Kuwait are revealed to be authoritarian contexts but where the challenges and possibilities faced by activists are quite different. The comparative nature of this research therefore exposes the context-specific usage of online platforms, separating this from the more general features of online activism. Nordenson demonstrates the power of online activism to create an essential 'counterpublic' that can challenge an authoritarian state and enable excluded groups to fight in ways that are far more difficult to suppress than a demonstration.

Dzailoszyce in Polish is also known as Zaloshitz in Yiddish, Dzyaloshitse in Russian, and Dzialoshitz, Zalazhtsy, Zaleshits, Zaloshits and Salshits. Dzia oszyce is a small town in southeastern Poland, 27 miles northeast of Krakow, that sits on a fertile plain surrounded by mountains. The first Jews arrived there in the 16th century, attracted perhaps by the fact that Dzia oszyce was on the trade route from Krakow to the north. By 1820, 75 percent of the town's 1700 residents were Jews; in the late 1930s, more than 80 percent of its 8,000 residents were Jewish. Most Jews in Dzia oszyce made their living through trade or crafts. The town was surrounded by small villages inhabited by peasants. Jewish peddlers went from village to village selling merchandise and purchasing agricultural products. While most Jews in Dzia oszyce were not very prosperous, some owned large estates in the surrounding areas, and the proprietors of most flour and barley mills, the oil refinery, and the town power plant were Jews. Religious life centered around the beautiful town synagogue and the small Hasidic houses of prayer. Communal life was organized through the kahal community council] and khevres societies] with various functions. In the interwar period, theater productions and sports events were popular. Zionist organizations sprang up and trained young people to be pioneers; a sizeable number emigrated to Palestine. During the war, mass killings and deportations virtually destroyed the Jewish community. Some were sent to their deaths at the Be ec camp, others to the Krakow ghetto and then to P aszow. Today, the formerly Jewish town has no Jews and only 1200 inhabitants. This Yizkor book, written originally in Yiddish and Hebrew by former residents as a memorial to their beloved town, provides a vivid portrayal of what Jewish life was like in Dzia oszyce before and during the war.

In London Yiddishtown: East End Jewish Life in Yiddish Sketch and Story, 1930-1950, Vivi Lachs presents a selection of previously un-translated short stories and sketches by Katie Brown, A. M. Kaizer, and I. A. Lisky, for the general reader and academic alike. These intriguing and entertaining tales build a picture of a lively East-End community of the 30s and 40s struggling with political, religious, and community concerns. Lachs includes a new history of the Yiddish literary milieu and biographies of the writers, with information gleaned from articles, reviews, and obituaries published in London's Yiddish daily newspapers and periodicals. Lisky's impassioned stories concern the East End's clashing ideologies of communism, Zionism, fascism, and Jewish class difference. He shows anti-fascist activism, political debate in a kosher caf? (R), East-End extras on a film set, and a hunger march by the unemployed. Kaizer's witty and satirical tales explore philanthropy, upward mobility, synagogue politics, and competition between Zionist organizations. They expose the character and foibles of the community and make fun of foolish and hypocritical behavior. Brown's often hilarious sketches address episodes of daily life, which highlight family shenanigans and generational misunderstandings, and point out how the different attachments to Jewish identity of the immigrant generation and their children created unresolvable fractures. Each section begins with a biography of the writer, before launching into the translated stories with contextual notes. London Yiddishtown offers a significant addition to the literature about London, about the East End, about Jewish history, and about Yiddish. The East End has parallels with New York's Lower East Side, yet London's comparatively small enclave, and the particular experience of London in the 1930s and the bombing of the East End during the Blitz make this history unique. It is a captivating read that will entice literary and history buffs of all backgrounds.

Islamic finance distinguishes itself from conventional finance with its strong emphasis on the moral consequences of financial transactions; prohibiting interest, excessive uncertainty, and finance of harmful business. When it comes to risk mitigation, it is unique in its risk sharing approach. This authoritative book tracks the evolution of the takaful industry over the course of the last four decades and makes a major attempt to highlight the importance of risk sharing through a discussion of various models of cooperation and critical analysis of their performance, including illuminating case studies and a critical assessment of the Islamic insurance model and the role of alternate financing mechanisms. Its high level discourse on shari'ah compliance and its nuances places emphasis on the importance of solidarity, cooperation, mutuality and reciprocity. Scholars and practitioners working in Islamic Finance will appreciate the context and nuance of this important book, and it will be essential reading for anyone interested in alternative forms of shari'ah compliant cooperative finance. The book is equally vital for academics and researchers interested in understanding various takaful models and their shari'ah considerations. Contributors include: A. Abozaid, A.U.F. Ahmad, A. Akhtar, S.N. Ali, H. Allam, M. Ayub, M. Al Bashir Al Amine, A. Bhatty, J.W. Bradford, S.E.B. Carmody, M.A. El-Gamal, M. Faisal, M.F. Haq, I. Bin Mahbob, A. Nana, V. Nienhaus, S. Nisar, U.A. Oseni, M. Rahman, A. Rehman, M.A. Samad, B. Shafiq, H. Sultan, A.-R. Syed, T.A. Uddin

This wide-ranging survey of the environmental damage to Native American lands and peoples in North America-in recent times as well as previous decades-documents the continuing impact on the health, wellness, land, and communities of indigenous peoples. Beginning in the early 1950s, Native peoples were recruited to mine "yellow dust"-uranium-and then, over decades, died in large numbers of torturous cancers. Uranium-induced cancers have become the deadliest plague unleashed upon Native peoples of North America-one with grave consequences impacting generations of American Indian families. Today, resource-driven projects such as the Keystone XL pipeline continue to put the health and safety of American Indians at risk. Authored by an expert with 40 years of experience in the subject, this book documents the environmental provocations afflicting Native American peoples in the United States: from the toll of uranium mining on the Navajos to the devastation wrought by dioxin, PCBs, and other pollutants on the agricultural economy of the Akwesasne Mohawk reservation in northernmost New York. The detailed personal stories of human suffering will enable readers to grasp the seriousness of the injustices levied against Native peoples as a result of corporations' and governments' greed for natural resources. Exposes readers to complete and current information about the severe environmental and health concerns that American Indians living on reservations experience due to environmental degradation Encourages awareness of the issues tribal governments and Indian communities commonly face in balancing economic rewards and environmental and health consequences Provides important historical context to support readers' understanding of the present-day situation of American Indians and reservation life

Examining a wide range of comics and graphic novels - including works by creators such as Will Eisner, Leela Corman, Neil Gaiman, Art Spiegelman, Sarah Glidden and Joe Sacco - this book explores how comics writers and artists have tackled major issues of Jewish identity and culture. With chapters written by leading and emerging scholars in contemporary comic book studies, Visualizing Jewish Narrative highlights the ways in which Jewish comics have handled such topics as: *Biography, autobiography, and Jewish identity *Gender and sexuality *Genre - from superheroes to comedy *The Holocaust *The Israel-Palestine conflict *Sources in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish myth Visualizing Jewish Narrative also includes a foreword by Danny Fingeroth, former editor of the Spider-Man line and author of Superman on the Couch and Disguised as Clark Kent..

In this unparalleled study of the forms of Hebrew poetry, preeminent authority Benjamin Harshav examines Hebrew verse during three millennia of changing historical and cultural contexts. He takes us around the world of the Jewish Diaspora, comparing the changes in Hebrew verse as it came into contact with the Canaanite, Greek, Arabic, Italian, German, Russian, Yiddish, and English poetic forms. Harshav explores the types and constraints of free rhythms, the meanings of sound patterns, the historical and linguistic frameworks that produced the first accentual iambs in English, German, Russian, and Hebrew, and the discovery of these iambs in a Yiddish romance written in Venice in 1508/09. In each chapter, the author presents an innovative analytical theory on a particular poetic domain, drawing on his close study of thousands of Hebrew poems.

This is the Author's first book. Truthful and far reaching, he portrays himself in a no holds barred narrative. A totally open book highlighting many humorous moments that he wants to share with others. To some he will appear bizarre, which in a sense he is, his actions bordering on a Saturday Night Live skit. This is a fast paced book that keeps the reader wondering what zany incident is lurking around the corner. He is curious to see how many others will share his thoughts and emotions that may take them back to similar experiences in their childhood and adult life. This book highlights his strong family orientation and is intended to provide a testimony to his daughters, sons-in-law, granddaughters and future generational family members.