The concept of 'performativity' has risen to prominence throughout the humanities. The rise of financial derivatives reflects the power of the performative sign in the economic sphere. As recent debates about gender identity show, the concept of performativity is also profoundly influential on people's personal lives. Although the autonomous power of representation has been studied in disciplines ranging from economics to poetics, however, it has not yet been evaluated in ethical terms. This book supplies that deficiency, providing an ethical critique of performative representation as it is manifested in semiotics, linguistics, philosophy, poetics, theology and economics. It constructs a moral criticism of the performative sign in two ways: first, by identifying its rise to power as a single phenomenon manifested in various different areas; and second, by locating efficacious representation in its historical context, thus connecting it to idolatry, magic, usury and similar performative signs. The book concludes by suggesting that earlier ethical critiques of efficacious representation might be revived in our own postmodern era.

The concept of 'performativity' has risen to prominence throughout the humanities. The rise of financial derivatives reflects the power of the performative sign in the economic sphere. As recent debates about gender identity show, the concept of performativity is also profoundly influential on people's personal lives. Although the autonomous power of representation has been studied in disciplines ranging from economics to poetics, however, it has not yet been evaluated in ethical terms. This book supplies that deficiency, providing an ethical critique of performative representation as it is manifested in semiotics, linguistics, philosophy, poetics, theology and economics. It constructs a moral criticism of the performative sign in two ways: first, by identifying its rise to power as a single phenomenon manifested in various different areas; and second, by locating efficacious representation in its historical context, thus connecting it to idolatry, magic, usury and similar performative signs. The book concludes by suggesting that earlier ethical critiques of efficacious representation might be revived in our own postmodern era.

Contents:
Introduction: Ideology and the Postmodern 1. Origins 2. Empiricism 3. Idealism 4. Marxism 5. Post-Marxism 6. Postmodernism 7. Ideology and Globalization Conclusion Glossary Further Reading Bibliography Index

Over the last 20 years, the concept of 'economic' activity has come to seem inseparable from psychological, semiotic and ideological experiences. In fact, the notion of the 'economy' as a discrete area of life seems increasingly implausible. This returns us to the situation of Shakespeare's England, where the financial had yet to be differentiated from other forms of representation. This book shows how concepts and concerns that were until recently considered purely economic affected the entire range of sixteenth and seventeenth century life. Using the work of such critics as Jean-Christophe Agnew, Douglas Bruster, Hugh Grady and many others, Shakespeare and Economic Theory traces economic literary criticism to its cultural and historical roots, and discusses its main practitioners. Providing new readings of Timon of Athens, King Lear, The Winter's Tale, The Merchant of Venice, Measure for Measure, Julius Caesar, Macbeth and The Tempest, David Hawkes shows how it can reveal previously unappreciated qualities of Shakespeare's work.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the International Workshop CCAAI 2012, held in Nice, France, in October 2012. The book includes 31 papers which were carefully reviewed and selected from 37 submissions. All of the accepted papers were revised by incorporating of the reviewers' comments and re-submitted by the authors to be included in this proceedings volume. The papers are organized into topical sections on colon and other gastrointestinal tract; and liver, kidney, and other organs.

The deepest and most varied of the Tang Dynasty poets, Tu Fu (Du Fu) is, in the words of David Hinton, the "first complete poetic sensibility in Chinese literature." He merged the public and the private, often in the same poem, as his subjects ranged from the horrors of war to the delights of friendship, from closely observed landscapes to remembered dreams, from the evocation of historical moments to the wry lament over his own thinning hair. Although Tu Fu has been translated before, David Hawkes' classic study, first published in 1967, is the only book that demonstrates in depth how the poems were written. Hawkes presents thirty-five poems in the original Chinese, with a pinyin transliteration, a character-by-character translation, and a commentary on the subject, the form, the historical background, and the individual lines. There is no other book quite like it for any language: a nuts-and-bolts account of how Chinese poems in general, and specifically the poems of one of the world's greatest poets, are constructed. It's an irresistible challenge for readers to invent their own translations.

Money, magic and the theatre were powerful forces in early modern England. Money was acquiring an independent, efficacious agency, as the growth of usury allowed financial signs to reproduce without human intervention. Magic was coming to seem Satanic, as the manipulation of magical signs to performative purposes was criminalized in the great 'witch craze.' And the commercial, public theatre was emerging - to great controversy - as the perfect medium to display, analyse and evaluate the newly autonomous power of representation in its financial, magical and aesthetic forms. Money and Magic in Early Modern Drama is especially timely in the current era of financial deregulation and derivatives, which are just as mysterious and occult in their operations as the germinal finance of 16th-century London. Chapters examine the convergence of money and magic in a wide range of early modern drama, from the anonymous Mankind through Christopher Marlowe to Ben Jonson, concentrating on such plays as The Alchemist, The New Inn and The Staple of News. Several focus on Shakespeare, whose analysis of the relations between finance, witchcraft and theatricality is particularly acute in Timon of Athens, The Comedy of Errors, Antony and Cleopatra and The Winter's Tale.

Over the last 20 years, the concept of 'economic' activity has come to seem inseparable from psychological, semiotic and ideological experiences. In fact, the notion of the 'economy' as a discrete area of life seems increasingly implausible. This returns us to the situation of Shakespeare's England, where the financial had yet to be differentiated from other forms of representation. This book shows how concepts and concerns that were until recently considered purely economic affected the entire range of sixteenth and seventeenth century life. Using the work of such critics as Jean-Christophe Agnew, Douglas Bruster, Hugh Grady and many others, Shakespeare and Economic Theory traces economic literary criticism to its cultural and historical roots, and discusses its main practitioners. Providing new readings of Timon of Athens, King Lear, The Winter's Tale, The Merchant of Venice, Measure for Measure, Julius Caesar, Macbeth and The Tempest, David Hawkes shows how it can reveal previously unappreciated qualities of Shakespeare's work.

It's 1989 - Kassie Stewart is young, beautiful, and wealthy - living the easy life in the tropics. While fishing alone at the end of her favorite pier, Kassie's cherished penknife slips from her hand into deep water. Diving in to retrieve it, she suddenly finds herself in a struggle for her life. Unbeknownst to Kassie the jade and gold penknife contains within it an encrypted code that the killer is after - a code that threatens the very existence of the world as we know it. ...So begins a riveting tale of greed, lust, and murder with a spell-binding plot that rips forward at lightning speed. Stunning imagery vividly depicts both the beauty and the innocence of the tropics with writing as soothing as the trade wind breezes. Talented new author, Jon David Hawke, brings us Jaded Palms - an exciting adventure novel that runs as deep and swift as the Gulf Stream waters. - A story that is at once terrifying and unexpectedly heart-warming - An exploration of human frailties that challenges our moral compass - You will laugh, cry, and shudder as you are transported by these pages - Introducing two of the strongest and most captivating female characters in modern fiction - A fragile planet teeters on a nuclear precipice - Adventure surges from the depths of the Caribbean seas to the peaks of the Bavarian Alps - Revengeful protagonists threaten the free world - A diabolical quest beyond all human imaginings - Rich textures of island life infused with tropical atmosphere

John Milton--poet, polemicist, public servant, and author of one of the greatest masterpieces in English literature, "Paradise Lost"--is revered today as a great writer and a proponent of free speech. In his time, however, his ideas far exceeded the orthodoxy of English life; spurred by his conscience and an iron grip on logic, Milton was uncompromising in his beliefs at a time of great religious and political flux in England.
In "John Milton," David Hawkes expertly interweaves details from Milton's public and private life, providing new insight into the man and his prophetic stance on politics and the social order. By including a broad range of Milton's iconoclastic views on issues as diverse as politics, economics, and sex, Hawkes suggests that Milton's approach to market capitalism, political violence, and religious terrorism continues to be applicable even in the twenty-first century.
This insightful biography closely examines Milton's participation in the English civil war and his startlingly modern ideas about capitalism, love, and marriage, reminding us that human liberty and autonomy should never be taken for granted.

The story of the Declaration of Independence--its genesis, drafting, ratification, and influence--is as complex as any great vision and realization. Did it merely sum up the prevailing thought of its day, or was it an advanced expression of uniquely American ideals? Were its signers aware of the Declaration's full revolutionary significance, or did they see it as the rationale for an economic dispute? Such questions face any historian of the period and require an extraordinary control of materials, a sensitive reading of character and text, and a lucid gift for recreating a time more than two centuries ago for scholars and general readers alike. David Hawke possesses all of these qualities in abundance. His portraits of Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration, and John Adams, who led the fight for its adoption, are wonderfully complex and sound. As he says in his new introduction, the main thesis [of the book] is that the Declaration could only have been written by Thomas Jefferson, not just because of his talent with words, but also because he, coming from an agrarian South, held ideas about society and government not shared by northerners. A double portrait of men who began as allies, became enemies, and at the end of their lives resolved their antagonism into deep respect and friendship, this book provides fascinating reading for anyone interested in the foundations of the American experiment.

A social history of Pennsylvania in the months before Independence, based on contemporary diaries and newspapers.

Contents:
Introduction: Ideology and the Postmodern 1. Origins 2. Empiricism 3. Idealism 4. Marxism 5. Post-Marxism 6. Postmodernism 7. Ideology and Globalization Conclusion Glossary Further Reading Bibliography Index