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Books > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history
An Open Access edition of this book is available on the Liverpool
University Press website and the OAPEN library. The Francophone
Caribbean and the American South are sites born of the plantation,
the common matrix for the diverse nations and territories of the
circum-Caribbean. This book takes as its premise that the basic
configuration of the plantation, in terms of its physical layout
and the social relations it created, was largely the same in the
Caribbean and the American South. Essays written by leading
authorities in the field examine the cultural, social, and
historical affinities between the Francophone Caribbean and the
American South, including Louisiana, which among the Southern
states has had a quite particular attachment to France and the
Francophone world. The essays focus on issues of history, language,
politics and culture in various forms, notably literature, music
and theatre. Considering figures as diverse as Barack Obama, Frantz
Fanon, Miles Davis, James Brown, Edouard Glissant, William
Faulkner, Maryse Conde and Lafcadio Hearn, the essays explore in
innovative ways the notions of creole culture and creolization,
terms rooted in and indicative of contact between European and
African people and cultures in the Americas, and which are promoted
here as some of the most productive ways for conceiving of the
circum-Caribbean as a cultural and historical entity.
New perspectives on Anglo-Jewish history via the poetry and song of
Yiddish-speaking immigrants in London from 1884 to 1914. Archive
material from the London Yiddish press, songbooks, and satirical
writing offers a window into an untold cultural life of the Yiddish
East End. Whitechapel Noise: Jewish Immigrant Life in Yiddish Song
and Verse, London 1884-1914 by Vivi Lachs positions London's
Yiddish popular culture in historical perspective within
Anglo-Jewish history, English socialist aesthetics, and music-hall
culture, and shows its relationship to the transnational
Yiddish-speaking world. Layers of cultural references in the
Yiddish texts are closely analysed and quoted to draw out the
complex yet intimate histories they contain, offering new
perspectives on Anglo-Jewish historiography in three main areas:
politics, sex, and religion. The acculturation of Jewish immigrants
to English life is an important part of the development of their
social culture, as well as to the history of London. In the first
part of the book, Lachs presents an overview of daily immigrant
life in London, its relationship to the Anglo-Jewish establishment,
and the development of a popular Yiddish theatre and press,
establishing a context from which these popular texts came. The
author then analyzes the poems and songs, revealing the hidden
social histories of the people writing and performing them. Lachs
also explores how themes of marriage, relationships, and sexual
exploitation appear regularly in music-hall songs, alluding to the
changing nature of sexual roles in the immigrant London community
influenced by the cultural mores of their new location. In the
theme of religion, Lachs examines how ideas from Jewish texts and
practice were used and manipulated by the socialist poets to
advance ideas about class, equality, and revolution; and satirical
writings offer glimpses into how the practice of religion and
growing secularization was changing immigrants' daily lives in the
encounter with modernity. The detailed and nuanced analysis found
in Whitechapel Noise offers a new reading of Anglo-Jewish, London,
and immigrant history. It is a must-read for Jewish and
Anglo-Jewish historians and those interested in Yiddish, London,
and migration studies.
Peasants, Lords and State: Comparing Peasant Conditions in
Scandinavia and the Eastern Alpine Region, 1000-1750 challenges the
once widespread view, rooted in the historical thinking of the
nineteenth century, that Scandinavian and especially Norwegian
peasants enjoyed a particular "peasant freedom" compared to their
Continental counterparts. Markers of this supposed freedom were
believed to be peasants' widespread ownership of land, extensive
control over land and resources, and comprehensive judicial
influence through the institution of the thing. The existence of
slaves and unfree people was furthermore considered a marginal
phenomenon. The contributors compare Scandinavia with the eastern
Alpine region, two regions comprising fertile plains as well as
rugged mountainous areas. This offers an opportunity to analyse the
effect of topographical factors without neglecting the influence of
manorial and territorial power structures over the long time-span
of c.1000 to 1750. With contributions by Markus Cerman, Tore
Iversen, Michael Mitterauer, John Ragnar Myking, Josef Riedmann,
Werner Roesener, Helge Salvesen, and Stefan Sonderegger.
The 500 year old community of Portuguese descendants in Malabar,
now called Kerala, is composed of an interesting group of people.
This book is an attempt to go deep into the history of European
interaction with Malabar, concentrating on the Portuguese period
from the end of the fifteenth century to present times, exploring
their commercial and religious interventions in Malabar and the
resultant political polarisation and social changes. The Portuguese
found it necessary to create a social group faithful to them for
the protection of their trade centres and in the bargain there
occurred an inevitable creation of an ethnic social group of
Portuguese descendants. The blockade of Constantinople by Ottoman
Turks in 1453, practically prevented Europeans from trading with
Asian countries. So, it became a necessity for Europeans to find a
new sea-route to India. Several European powers tried for this,
especially Spain and Portugal. Finally, Vasco da Gama, the
Portuguese navigator reached Calicut in 1498. Vasco da Gama was
followed by Pedro Alvares Cabral in 1500 and the creation of the so
called Estado da India Portugesa (Portuguese State of India) by the
posting of Francisco de Almeida as the first Viceroy in 1505. The
policy of Politica dos Casamentos (politics through marriages)
introduced by Afonso de Albuquerque, the second Viceroy, by
marrying Portuguese soldiers with Indian women and the resultant
mixed race or mestices which eventually formed the Luso-Indian
community in Malabar. The casados (married Portuguese men) and
their role in Portuguese trade in Malabar forms an important part
of this volume. The Dutch invasion of Cochin in 1663 and the mixing
of Luso-Indians with the Dutch, English and other Europeans who
came to Malabar in later years and the present structure of the
Anglo-Indian community, their settlements, institutions, cultural
influences, attachment with Catholic Church is discussed in detail
in this volume, making it a valuable document for scholars as well
as the lay readers.
Orwell was wrong. Sports are not "war without the shooting", nor
are they "war by other means." To be sure sports have generated
animosity throughout human history, but they also require rules to
which the participants agree to abide before the contest. Among
other things, those rules are supposed to limit violence, even
death. More than anything else, sports have been a significant part
of a historical "civilizing process." They are the opposite of war.
As the historical profession has taken its cultural turn over the
last few decades, scholars have turned their attention to subject
once seen as marginal. As researchers have come to understand the
centrality of the human body in human history, they have come to
study this most corporeal of human activities. Taking early cues
from physical educators and kinesiologists, historians have been
exploring sports in all their forms in order to help us answer the
most fundamental questions to which scholars have devoted their
lives. We have now seen a veritable explosion excellent work on
this subject, just as sports have assumed an even greater share of
a globalizing world's cultural, political and economic space.
Practiced by millions and watched by billions, sports provide an
enormous share of content on the Internet. This volume combines the
efforts of sports historians with essays by historians whose
careers have been devoted to more traditional topics. We want to
show how sports have evolved from ancient societies to the world we
inhabit today. Our goal is to introduce those from outside this
sub-field to this burgeoning body of scholarship. At the same time,
we hope here to show those who may want to study sport with rigor
and nuance how to embark on a rewarding journey and tackle profound
matters that have affected and will affect all of humankind.
Elvis Presley stands tall as perhaps the supreme icon of
20th-century U.S. culture. But he was perceived to be deeply
un-American in his early years as his controversial adaptation of
rhythm and blues music and gyrating on-stage performances sent
shockwaves through Eisenhower's conservative America and far
beyond. This book explores Elvis Presley's global transformation
from a teenage rebel figure into one of the U.S.'s major
pop-cultural embodiments from a historical perspective. It shows
how Elvis's rise was part of an emerging transnational youth
culture whose political impact was heavily conditioned by the Cold
War. As well as this, the book analyses Elvis's stint as G.I.
soldier in West Germany, where he acted as an informal ambassador
for the so-called American way of life and was turned into a deeply
patriotic figure almost overnight. Yet, it also suggests that
Elvis's increasingly synonymous identity with U.S. culture
ultimately proved to be a double-edged sword, as the excesses of
his superstardom and personal decline seemingly vindicated
long-held stereotypes about the allegedly materialistic nature of
U.S. society. Tracing Elvis's story from his unlikely rise in the
1950s right up to his tragic death in August 1977, this book offers
a riveting account of changing U.S. identities during the Cold War,
shedding fresh light on the powerful role of popular music and
consumerism in shaping images of the United States during the
cultural struggle between East and West.
The poetry of Horace was central to Victorian male elite education
and the ancient poet himself, suitably refashioned, became a model
for the English gentleman. Horace and the Victorians examines the
English reception of Horace in Victorian culture, a period which
saw the foundations of the discipline of modern classical
scholarship in England and of many associated and lasting social
values. It shows that the scholarly study, translation and literary
imitation of Horace in this period were crucial elements in
reinforcing the social prestige of Classics as a discipline and its
function as an indicator of 'gentlemanly' status through its
domination of the elite educational system and its prominence in
literary production. The book ends with an epilogue suggesting that
the framework of study and reception of a classical author such as
Horace, so firmly established in the Victorian era, has been
modernised and 'democratised' in recent years, matching the
movement of Classics from a discipline which reinforces traditional
and conservative social values to one which can be seen as both
marginal and liberal.
The Washington Redskins franchise remains one of the most valuable
in professional sports, in part because of its easily recognizable,
popular, and profitable brand. And yet "redskins" is a derogatory
name for American Indians. Prominent journalists, politicians, and
former players have publicly spoken out against the use of Redskins
as the name of the team. The number of grassroots campaigns to
change the name has risen in recent years despite the current team
owner's assertion that the team will never do so. The NFL, for its
part, actively defends the name and supports it in court. Redskins:
Insult and Brand examines how the ongoing struggle over the team
name raises important questions about how white Americans perceive
American Indians, about the cultural power of consumer brands, and
about continuing obstacles to inclusion and equality. C. Richard
King examines the history of the team's name, the evolution of the
term "redskin," and the various ways in which people both support
and oppose its use today. King's hard-hitting approach to the
team's logo and mascot exposes the disturbing history of a
moniker's association with the NFL-a multibillion-dollar entity
that accepts public funds-as well as popular attitudes toward
Native Americans today.
This book is an interdisciplinary study aimed at re-imagining and
re-routing contemporary migrations in the Mediterranean. Drawing
from visual arts, citizenship studies, film, media and cultural
studies, along with postcolonial, border, and decolonial
discourses, and examining the issues from within a human rights
framework, the book investigates how works of cultural production
can offer a more complex and humane understanding of mobility in
the Mediterranean beyond representations of illegality and/or
crisis. Elvira Pulitano centers the discourse of cultural
production around the island of Lampedusa but expands the island
geography to include a digital multi-media project, a social
enterprise in Palermo, Sicily, and overall reflections on race,
identity, and belonging inspired by Toni Morrison's guest-curated
Louvre exhibit The Foreigner's Home. Responding to recent calls for
alternative methodologies in thinking the modern Mediterranean,
Pulitano disseminates a fluid archive of contemporary migrations
reverberating with ancestral sounds and voices from the African
diaspora along a Mediterranean-TransAtlantic map. Adding to the
recent proliferation of social science scholarship that has drawn
attention to the role of artistic practice in migration studies,
the book features human stories of endurance and survival aimed at
enhancing knowledge and social justice beyond (and notwithstanding)
militarized borders and failed EU policies.
In their first century of uninterrupted publication, newspapers
reached an all-embracing readership: male and female, noble and
artisan, in both town and country. Such was its impact that this
seemingly ephemeral product became a collector's object. In Reading
newspapers Uriel Heyd examines this vibrant new print medium and
investigates its political, social and cultural implications.
Adopting a comparative approach, the author traces the culture of
newspaper reading in Britain and America. Previously unexplored
sources such as newspaper indexes and introductions, plays, auction
catalogues and a unique newspaper collection assembled and
annotated by a Bostonian shopkeeper, provide invaluable access to
perceptions of the press, reading practices, and the ever-changing
experience of consumers. While newspapers supplied news of
immediacy and relevance, their effect transcended the here and now,
influencing readers' perceptions of the age in which they lived and
helping to shape historical memory. But the newly found power of
this media also gave rise to a certain fear of its ability to
exploit or manipulate public opinion. Perceived as vehicles of
enlightenment, but also viewed with suspicion, the legacy of
eighteenth-century newspapers is still felt today.
By examining theoretical debates about the nature of
nineteenth-century German opera and analyzing the genre's
development and its international dissemination, this book shows
German opera's entanglement with national identity formation. The
thorough study of German opera debates in the first half of the
nineteenth century highlights the esthetic and ideological
significance of this relatively neglected repertoire, and helps to
contextualize Richard Wagner's attempts to define German opera and
to gain a reputation as the German opera composer par excellence.
By interpreting Wagner's esthetic endeavors as a continuation of
previous campaigns for the emancipation of German opera, this book
adds an original and significant perspective to discussions about
Wagner's relation to German nationalism.
In Aesthetics in Arabic Thought from Pre-Islamic Arabia through
al-Andalus Jose Miguel Puerta Vilchez analyzes the discourses about
beauty, the arts, and sense perception that arose within classical
Arab culture from pre-Islamic poetry and the Quran (sixth-seventh
centuries CE) to the Alhambra palace in Granada (fourteenth century
CE). He focuses on the contributions of such great thinkers as Ibn
Hazm, Avempace, Ibn Tufayl, Averroes, Ibn 'Arabi, and Ibn Khaldun
in al-Andalus, and the Brethren of Purity, al-Tawhidi, al-Farabi,
Avicenna, Alhazen, and al-Ghazali in the East. The work also
explores literary criticism, calligraphy, music, belles-lettres
(adab), and erotic literature, and highlights the contribution of
Arab humanism to shaping the field of Aesthetics in the West.
Historical Studies in Industrial Relations was established in 1996
by the Centre for Industrial Relations, Keele University, to
provide an outlet for, and to stimulate an interest in, historical
work in the field of industrial relations and the history of
industrial relations thought. Content broadly covers the employment
relationship and economic, social and political factors surrounding
it - such as labour markets, union and employer policies and
organization, the law, and gender and ethnicity. Articles with an
explicit political dimension, particularly recognising divisions
within the working class and within workers' organizations, will be
encouraged, as will historical work on labour law.
The stories of the Cherokee people presented here capture in
written form tales of history, myth, and legend for readers,
speakers, and scholars of the Cherokee language. Assembled by noted
authorities on Cherokee, this volume marks an unparalleled
contribution to the linguistic analysis, understanding, and
preservation of Cherokee language and culture. Cherokee Narratives
spans the spectrum of genres, including humor, religion, origin
myths, trickster tales, historical accounts, and stories about the
Eastern Cherokee language. These stories capture the voices of
tribal elders and form a living record of the Cherokee Nation and
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' oral tradition. Each narrative
appears in four different formats: the first is interlinear, with
each line shown in the Cherokee syllabary, a corresponding roman
orthography, and a free English translation; the second format
consists of a morpheme-by-morpheme analysis of each word; and the
third and fourth formats present the entire narrative in the
Cherokee syllabary and in a free English translation. The
narratives and their linguistic analysis are a rich source of
information for those who wish to deepen their knowledge of the
Cherokee syllabary, as well as for students of Cherokee history and
culture. By enabling readers at all skill levels to use and
reconstruct the Cherokee language, this collection of tales will
sustain the life and promote the survival of Cherokee for
generations to come.
Tikim: Essays on Philippine Food and Culture by Doreen G. Fernandez
is a groundbreaking work that introduces readers to the wondrous
history of Filipino foodways. First published by Anvil in 1994,
Tikim explores the local and global nuances of Philippine cuisine
through its people, places, feasts, and flavors. Doreen Gamboa
Fernandez (1934-2002) was a cultural historian, professor, author,
and columnist. Her food writing educated and inspired generations
of chefs and food enthusiasts in the Philippines and throughout the
world. This Brill volume honors and preserves Fernandez's legacy
with a reprinting of Tikim, a foreword by chef and educator Aileen
Suzara, and an editor's preface by historian Catherine Ceniza Choy.
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