Author Biography:
Max H. Kirsch is Associate Professor and Director of the PhD Program in Comparative Studies: The Public Intellectuals Program at the Florida Atlantic University, USA.

Queer Theory and Social Change argues that there is a crisis within Queer theory over whether or not its theories can actually deliver change.
Max Kirsch presents a challenging alternative to the current fascination with post-modern analyses of identity, culture, and difference. It emphasizes the need for a discussion of the importance of communities and the role of globalization on queer movements.

In recent years, the Walt Disney Company has grown far beyond its beginnings in animated films and theme parks to become a major multinational corporation with global reach. As the company's activities have grown more complex and its influence more ubiquitous, both its internal practices and its attempts to control its now global public environment have generated conflicts that contradict the classic Disney publicity image. The 11 wide-ranging, interdisciplinary essays in this collection cover topics including Animal Kingdom; Gay Days at the theme parks; Disney's connection to sweatshops; commodification of The Lion King on Broadway; the transformation of Winnie the Pooh; Disney's experience in urban planning in Times Square and Celebration, Florida; and Disney's America. A comprehensive introduction contextualizes the essays and relates them to earlier Disney studies.
CONTRIBUTORS include Lee Artz, Sean Griffin, Dick Hebdige, Radha Jhappan, Daiva Stasiulis, and Susan Willis.

Traces the history of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts region, the U.S. economy, and the wave of multinational corporate restructurings. Comparing communities undergoing restructuring to newly independent states, the author shows how these communities confront for the first time the challenge of direct