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Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > General
Napoleon's youngest brother, Jerome, has over the centuries been
portrayed as a military commander who was completely incompetent
and unimportant to his famous sibling. This first biography of
Jerome by an American author utilizes many firsthand accounts
ofJerome's abilities that have never before been available to
readers in English, as well as archival material that has never
been published in any language, to challenge this view. Focussing
on the lesser-known theaters of operation from 1800 to the Russian
campaign in 1812, this study completes the gaps in the military
history of the Napoleonic Wars. As Lamar demonstrates, Jerome was
not responsible for the failure of Napoleon's early maneuvers
during the invasion of Russia, nor did he lose the Battle of
Waterloo in 1815.
Jerome's relationship with Napoleon was affected by his position
as the youngest member of the Bonaparte family. Much of Emperor
Napoleon I's true nature can be seen through his dealings with
Jerome and his naval career. After discussing Jerome's experiences
as the only Bonaparte to serve in the navy, Lamar detailsJerome's
involvement in land campaigns, in such varied places as Silesia,
Russia, and Waterloo. Another important aspect of Jerome's career
was his leadership role as King of Westphalia. This objective
account sheds new light on the life and accomplishments of one of
the most maligned figures of the Napoleonic era.
Camillo Agrippa's widely influential "Treatise on the Science of
Arms" was a turning point in the history of fencing. The author -
an engineer by trade and not a professional master of arms - was
able to radically re-imagine teaching the art of fencing. Agrippa's
treatise is the fundamental text of Western swordsmanship. Just as
earlier swordsmanship can be better understood from Agrippa's
critiques, so too was his book the starting point for the rapier
era. Every other treatise of the early-modern period had to deal
explicitly or implicitly with Agrippa's startling transformation of
the art and science of self-defense with the sword. Likewise, all
of the fundamental ideas that are still used today - distance,
time, line, blade opposition, counterattacks and countertime - are
expressed in this paradigm-shifting treatise. This is a work that
should be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the history,
practice or teaching of fencing. His treatise was also a microcosm
of sixteenth-century thought. It examines the art, reduces it to
its very principles, and reconstructs it according to a way of
thinking that incorporated new concepts of art, science and
philosophy. Contained within this handy volume are concrete
examples of a new questioning of received wisdom and a turn toward
empirical proofs, hallmarks of the Enlightenment. The treatise also
presents evidence for a redefinition of elite masculinity in the
wake of the military revolution of the sixteenth century. At the
same time, is offers suggestive clues to the place of the hermetic
tradition in the early-modern intellectual life and its
implications for the origins of modern science. Camillo Agrippa's
"Treatise on the Science of Arms" was first published in Rome in
1553 by the papal printer Antonio Blado. The original treatise was
illustrated with 67 engravings that belong to the peak of
Renaissance design. They are reproduced here in full. "Mondschein
has at last made available to English-speaking readers one of the
most important texts in the history of European martial arts.
Agrippa marks a turning point in the intellectual history of these
arts.... Mondschein's introduction to his work helps the reader
understand Agrippa - and the martial practices themselves - as
pivotal agents in the evolving cultural and intellectual systems of
the sixteenth century. Above all, Mondschein's translation is
refreshingly clean and idiomatic, rendering the systematic clarity
of the Italian original into equally clear modern English -
evidence of the author's familiarity with modern fencing and
understanding of the physical realities that his author is trying
to express. Mondschein's contextualization of his topic points the
way for future scholarly exploration, and his translation will
doubtless be valued by both students of cultural history and
practitioners of modern sword arts." - Dr. Jeffrey L. Forgeng, Paul
S. Morgan Curator -Higgins Armory Museum, Adj. Assoc. Prof. of
Humanities, Worcester Polytechnic Institute First English
translation. Hardcover, 234 pages, 67 illustrations, introduction,
bibliography, glossary, appendix, index."
African Proverbs as Epistemologies of Decolonization calls for a
rethinking of education by engaging African proverbs as valuable
and salient epistemologies for contemporary times. The book
addresses the pedagogic, instructional, and communicative relevance
of African proverbs for decolonizing schooling and education in
pluralistic contexts by questioning the instructional, pedagogic,
and communications lessons of these proverbs and how they can be
employed in the education of contemporary youth. It presents a
critical discursive analysis of proverbs from selected African
contexts, highlighting the underlying knowledge base that informs
these cultural expressions. Explore alongside the book the ways in
which these Indigenous teachings can be engaged by schools and
educators to further the objective of decolonizing education by
providing a framework for character education. This character-based
framework equips the learner to be knowledgeable about power,
equity, ethics and morality, and to develop a conscience for social
responsibility, as well as to embrace traditional notions of
self-discipline, probity, and hard work. This text goes beyond the
mere documentation of proverbs to tease out how embedded knowledge
and cultural referents in these knowledge bases and systems are
critical for transforming education for young learners today.
The leading case of The Mayor, Alderman and Burgesses of the Borough of Bradford v Pickles was the first to establish that it is not unlawful for a property owner to exercise his or her property rights maliciously and to the detriment of others, or the public interest. Though controversial at the time, today it is often invisible and taken for granted. This book explores why the common law, in contrast to civil law systems, developed in this way.
How do educators and activists in today's struggles for change use
historical materials from earlier periods of organizing for
political education? How do they create and engage with independent
and often informal archives and debates? How do they ultimately
connect this historical knowledge with contemporary struggles?
History's Schools aims to advance the understanding of
relationships between learning, knowledge production, history and
social change. This unique collection explores engagement with
activist/movement archives; learning and teaching militant
histories; lessons from liberatory and anti-imperialist struggles;
and learning from student, youth and education struggles. Six
chapters foreground insights from the breadth and diversity of
South Africa's rich progressive social movements; while others
explore connections between ideas and practices of historical and
contemporary struggles in other parts of the world including
Argentina, Iran, Britain, Palestine, and the US. Besides its great
relevance to scholars and students of Education, Sociology, and
History, this innovative title will be of particular interest to
adult educators, labour educators, archivists, community workers
and others concerned with education for social change.
"Needed historical perspective . . . thorough documentation . . .
excellent."
--" Library Journal"
"The book provides some very interesting examples of early legal
standards for prosecuting rape charges and charges of child sexual
abuse in the United States."
-- "Archives of Sexual Behavior"
"Merril Smith's edited volume provides numerous articles that
will be of great worth to the historical and feminist communities.
The range or articles in this volume goes beyond the usual
"hotspots" while still allowing for important comparisons."
--"Journal of Social History"
A group of men rape an intoxicated fifteen year old girl to
"make a woman of her." An immigrant woman is raped after accepting
a ride from a stranger. A young mother is accosted after a neighbor
escorts her home. In another case, a college frat party is the
scene of the crime. Although these incidents appear similar to
accounts one can read in the newspapers almost any day in the
United States, only the last one occurred in this century. Each,
however, involved a woman or girl compelled to have sex against her
will.
Sex without Consent explores the experience, prosecution, and
meaning of rape in American history from the time of the early
contact between Europeans and Native Americans to the present. By
exploring what rape meant in particular times and places in
American history, from interracial encounters due to colonization
and slavery to rape on contemporary college campuses, the
contributors add to our understanding of crime and punishment, as
well as to gender relations, gender roles, and sexual politics.
Parliamentary Democracy provides a comparative study of the
parliamentary regimes since 1789. The book covers the road to
parliamentarization of former constitutional monarchies and the
creation of parliamentary regimes by exercising the
constitution-making power of the people. What has been called
democratization in most of the 'transitology' literature was until
1918 mostly only 'parliamentarization'. Democratization of the
regimes frequently caused a certain destabilization of the
parliamentary regimes by new parties and extremist movement
entering the political arena. This is the first book to cover the
entire range of parliamentary systems, including the
semi-presidential systems.
The Boys and Girls Republic of Farmington Hills, Michigan, came to
life as the Boys Republic during the Progressive Era, when the
combined stresses of urbanization, immigration, and poverty left an
unprecedented number of children on the streets. It was a time
marked both by social change and new thinking about the welfare of
children, especially the neglected, delinquent, or abused. Here Gay
Zieger tells the story of the remarkable humanitarians and
reformers in the Detroit area who offered such children shelter,
food, and comfort. Their efforts ultimately evolved into one of the
most dramatic illustrations of a "junior republic" -- an innovation
directed not at enforcing discipline from above but rather at
cultivating character among children through example and
self-government.
We meet, for instance, the colorful first superintendent, Homer
T. Lane, who believed in the innate goodness of children and
established a self-governing system that allowed the boys in his
care to exercise some power over their lives. While Lane dealt with
issues concerning personal hygiene and honesty -- and the book
includes humorous accounts of how the boys arrived at "laws"
addressing these matters -- later issues included aggressive
behavior, alienation, and drugs. Telling a story that spans the
twentieth century, the author traces the social currents that gave
rise to these problems, as well as the changing philosophies and
psychological approaches aimed at resolving them. Her book pays
tribute to the Republic, a residential treatment center for both
boys and girls since 1994, by sharing the stories of individuals
determined to help children discover their potential to
succeed.
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