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This book by renowned anthropologist Harald Haarmann illuminates
the acquisition of knowledge, and the meanings underlying forms of
knowledge, in a broad temporal scope, ranging from the Neolithic
through the modern era. Spiritual knowledge is at the heart of this
work, which views myth and religion encoded in Neolithic female
figurines and revived in the contemporary "primitive" artwork of
artists such as Constantin Brancusi and Henry Moore. Within such a
framework, this study employs the knowledge and insights of the
relatively new, and very important, interdisciplinary field of
archaeomythology, which ties together information from archaeology,
DNA studies, mythology, anthropology, classical studies, other
ancient language studies, and linguistics. This study does so with
a wealth of information in these fields, offering meaningful
resolutions to many questions regarding antiquity, and shedding
light upon several previously misunderstood phenomena, from the
true function of Stonehenge (that its purpose was not
astronomical), to the fact that there could not have been a mass
movement of agriculturalists from Anatolia to Europe (this is a
currently hotly contested issue), to important Eurasian religious
beliefs and mythological motifs (with an excellent discussion of
shamanism), to systems of writing (with a wonderful discourse upon
ancient writing systems), religious expression, and mythology of
the exceptionally significant cultures of Old Europe (Neolithic
southeastern Europe). The book further discourses upon the legacy
of this culture in Minoan and then Greek culture, Old European
(pre-Indo-European) lexical items (that is, substrate vocabulary)
in Greek, and finally the preservation of Neolithic spirituality in
Modern Art. With this interdisciplinary approach, the study
demonstrates that all of the subjects of this manuscript are
interconnected, in a powerful wholeness. Ancient knowledge, Ancient
know-how, Ancient reasoning is an unprecedented study that will
appeal across many disciplines, including archaeology, mythology,
anthropology, classical studies, ancient language studies, and
linguistics. The book also includes many images that will prove
helpful to the reader.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SOCIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE brings to students,
researchers and practitioners in all of the social and
language-related sciences carefully selected book-length
publications dealing with sociolinguistic theory, methods, findings
and applications. It approaches the study of language in society in
its broadest sense, as a truly international and interdisciplinary
field in which various approaches, theoretical and empirical,
supplement and complement each other. The series invites the
attention of linguists, language teachers of all interests,
sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, historians
etc. to the development of the sociology of language.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SOCIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE brings to students,
researchers and practitioners in all of the social and
language-related sciences carefully selected book-length
publications dealing with sociolinguistic theory, methods, findings
and applications. It approaches the study of language in society in
its broadest sense, as a truly international and interdisciplinary
field in which various approaches, theoretical and empirical,
supplement and complement each other. The series invites the
attention of linguists, language teachers of all interests,
sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, historians
etc. to the development of the sociology of language.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SOCIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE brings to students,
researchers and practitioners in all of the social and
language-related sciences carefully selected book-length
publications dealing with sociolinguistic theory, methods, findings
and applications. It approaches the study of language in society in
its broadest sense, as a truly international and interdisciplinary
field in which various approaches, theoretical and empirical,
supplement and complement each other. The series invites the
attention of linguists, language teachers of all interests,
sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, historians
etc. to the development of the sociology of language.
Traditional scholarship on how ancient civilizations emerged is
outmoded and new insights call for revision. According to the
well-established paradigm, Mesopotamia is considered the cradle of
civilization. Following the cliche of ex oriente lux ("light from
the East") all major achievements of humankind spread from the
Middle East. Modern archaeology, cultural science and historical
linguistics indicate civilizations did not originate from a single
prototype. Several models produced divergent patterns of advanced
culture, developing both hierarchical and egalitarian societies.
This study outlines a panorama of ancient civilizations, including
the still little-known Danube civilization, now identified as the
oldest advanced culture in Europe. In a comparative view, a new
paradigm of research and a new cultural chronology of civilizations
in the Old and New Worlds emerges, with climate change shown to be
a continual influence on human lifeways.
Contrary to a prevalent belief of the Western world, that
democracy, agriculture, theatre and the arts were the attainments
of Classical Greek civilisation, these were actually a Bronze Age
fusion of earlier European concepts and Hellenic ingenuity. This
work considers both the multicultural wellspring from which these
ideas flowed and their ready assimilation by the Greeks, who
embraced these hallmarks of civilisation, and refined them to the
level of sophistication that defines classical antiquity.
This study documents various historical instances in the
development of the concept "Common Good". The author reflects about
Plato's theory of Forms, which is infused with the idea of good, as
the first principle of being. Plato was not the first philosopher
to address the theme of the Common Good although he was the first
to construct a political theory around it. This theme has remained
a central agenda for philosophers throughout the ages
Providing a multifaceted view of modern Finland, this book
describes its history, culture, language, geography, natural
history and the mythology of early peoples. Topics include
Fenno-Scandia inhabitants and their environment, traditional
naturalism and modern environmentalism, and the salient features of
""Finnishness,"" including an analysis of the Finnish educational
system and gender equality. Finland's art, architecture and music,
are highlighted, along with its peace-keeping missions worldwide.
The country's several ethnic groups and their languages are
discussed-the Saami, Finns, Finland-Swedes, Russian-speaking
peoples, Jews and Gypsies. The author examines Finland's late but
rapid development in commerce and industry, with a focus on the
history of Nokia Corporation, which grew from a 19th-century
manufacturer of pulpwood and rubber boots to a 21st-century
international digital communications company.
Die langste Zeit wahrend der Kulturgeschichte haben Menschen
Vorstellungen von "Parallelwelten" gepflegt - von einer
diesseitigen Sphare und von einer jenseitigen Sphare, die von
ubersinnlichen Gestalten bevoelkert ist. Seit jeher waren die
Menschen darum bemuht, die Intentionen der Instanzen in der
jenseitigen Sphare zu ergrunden, um deren Wohlwollen fur sich zu
erlangen. Die Sphare des UEbersinnlichen erschliesst sich uber die
Religion. Das Gemeinsame in allen Religionen ist deren weitgehend
ahnlich strukturiertes Fundament. Und der Baustoff dieses
Fundaments ist Spiritualitat. Sprache, Schrift und Bilder, diese
wichtigen Komponenten zum Aufbau von Kultur, werden fur die
religioese Kommunikation eingesetzt und in Riten und Ritualen
aktiviert. In dieser Studie werden die Umrisse fur eine
Urgeschichte der Transzendenz skizziert, respektive fur eine
anthropologische Konstante in allen Kulturen.
Demokratie ist das am weitesten verbreitete gesellschaftspolitische
Modell in der Welt, und es wird lebhaft daruber diskutiert. Wir
leben mit allerlei Vorstellungen von dem, was Demokratie ist oder
sein koennte, und vieles davon ist mythisch verklart. Wir glauben
zu wissen, dass die Griechen der Antike diese Herrschaftsform
erfunden hatten. In diesem Buch wird der sprach- und
begriffsgeschichtliche sowie allgemein kulturwissenschaftliche
Nachweis gefuhrt, dass die Griechen viele Traditionen der
vorgriechischen Bevoelkerung angenommen und fortgesetzt haben, und
dazu gehoert auch das Prinzip der kommunalen Selbstverwaltung in
den Dorfgemeinschaften (Demen). Die vorgriechischen Kulturen
Sudosteuropas sind inzwischen recht gut erforscht, so dass
heutzutage Vergleiche zwischen dem Gesellschaftsmodell Alteuropas
und den Herrschaftsformen der griechischen Antike auf festem Grund
stehen. Die Ursprunge der griechischen Demokratie sind in der
vorgriechischen AEra zu suchen. Die griechische Demokratie des
Athener Staates erlangte Vorbildcharakter und wurde in spateren
Perioden als rekursives Modell erneuert. Die Erkenntnisse zu
kulturhistorischen Langzeitwirkungen fordern zu einem
Paradigmenwechsel fur die Antikenforschung heraus.
Ist Schwarz eine Farbe oder nur Kontrastgeber? Ist Schwarz ein
einziger Farbton oder sind es mehrere? Sind Einstellungen zur Farbe
Schwarz kulturell gepragt? Wenn man Schwarz sagt, meint man dann
tatsachlich auch Schwarz? Es heisst, Schwarz ist die am wenigsten
verstandene aller Farben. Insofern ist es eine besondere
Herausforderung, die Sinngebung der Farbe Schwarz in den
kulturhistorischen Landschaften der Welt auszuleuchten. Eben dies
wird in dieser Studie angestrebt, wobei der Diskussion uber
Farbmetaphorik besondere Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt wird. Hier werden
Erkenntnisse der verschiedensten Fachdisziplinen ausgewertet -
darunter der Kunstgeschichte, der Anthropologie, der Linguistik,
der Forschung uber kulturelle Stereotypen und der
Religionsgeschichte - und zu einer Gesamtschau verdichtet. Dieses
Buch ist in einem verstandlichen Essaystil geschrieben und spricht
damit den allgemein interessierten akademischen Leser an. Daruber
hinaus eignet es sich nach seinem Inhalt und der Vielzahl an
Quellenverweisen ebenso als Forschungsinstrument fur die
verschiedensten Fachvertreter.
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