Arts & Humanities Through the Eras

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Arts & Humanities Through the Eras

by Philip M. Soergel, Edward Bleiberg, James Allan Evans, Kristen Mossler Figg, John Block Friedman (Editors)

SEEING HISTORY FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE. An education in history involves more than facts concerning the rise and fall of kings, the conquest of lands, and the major battles fought between nations. While these events are pivotal to the study of any time period, the cultural aspects are of equal value in understanding the development of societies. Various forms of literature, the philosophical ideas developed, and even the type of clothes worn in a particular era provide important clues about the values of a society, and when these arts and humanities are studied in conjunction with political and historical events a more complete picture of that society is revealed. This inter-disciplinary approach to studying history is at the heart of the Arts and Humanities Through the Eras project.

Early Netherlandish Paintings

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Early Netherlandish Paintings: Rediscovery, Reception, and Research

by Bernhard Ridderbos, Anne van Buren, Henk van Veen (Editors)

In the fifteenth century, a number of master painters, including Jan van Eyck and Roger Campin, flourished in the Netherlands. However, by the early nineteenth century many of their works had been dispersed by the upheavals of the French Revolution. Any contemporary understanding of these artists and their paintings must take into account that historical data about them remains fragmentary and that art historians from different disciplines have approached them in varying ways. Rather than offering a chronological discussion, this book presents early Netherlandish paintings as individual objects that have confronted scholars with countless interpretive challenges. Part One analyzes the style and provenance of each work, the insights gained from it, and the questions that remain, while Part Two is devoted to the history of collecting and of art historical research and interpretation during the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century. Part Three addresses how three fields of modern art-historical research - technical examination, archival research into patronage, and iconology - have produced analyses of these artworks. "Early Netherlandish Painting" advances the scholarly dialogue about an important period in European art by assembling the current scholarly research in the field and underscoring the common ground among scholars from different disciplines.

The Crusades: An Encyclopedia

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The Crusades: An Encyclopedia 4 Volume Set

by Alan Murray

The set THE CRUSADES is a 4-volume work of art highly recommended for both high school and college-level libraries as a basic introductory reference. 1,000 A-Z entries and translated texts on individual crusades and crusaders reflect the contributions of over a hundred researchers from over twenty countries, and are accompanied by maps, bibliographic references, and black and white illustrations. It's the only work to embrace the entire crusade movement from the 11th century through modern times - and all throughout Europe into the Middle East, and represents the latest scholarship, organized by a UK lecturer in medieval studies. A highly recommended, basic reference for any school where Crusades history is studied.

The Myth of Sacred Prostitution in Antiquity

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The Myth of Sacred Prostitution in Antiquity

by Stephanie Lynn Budin

In this study, Stephanie Budin demonstrates that sacred prostitution, the sale of a person's body for sex in which some or all of the money earned was devoted to a deity or a temple, did not exist in the ancient world. Reconsidering the evidence from the ancient Near East, the Greco-Roman texts, and the Early Christian authors, Budin shows that the majority of sources that have traditionally been understood as pertaining to sacred prostitution actually have nothing to do with this institution. The few texts that are usually invoked on this subject are, moreover, terribly misunderstood. Furthermore, contrary to many current hypotheses, the creation of the myth of sacred prostitution has nothing to do with notions of accusation or the construction of a decadent, Oriental "Other." Instead, the myth has come into being as a result of more than 2,000 years of misinterpretations, false assumptions, and faulty methodology. The study of sacred prostitution is, effectively, a historiographical reckoning.

Celtic Culture : A Historical Encyclopedia

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Celtic Culture : A Historical Encyclopedia (Five Volume Set)

by John Koch

The most comprehensive reference resource on Celtic culture; an encyclopedia written by and for scholars, yet accessible to all. From the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies in Aberystwyth, John T. Koch, one of the world's foremost Celtic scholars, has assembled work from leading researchers worldwide to produce the first encyclopedic treatment of the Celts and Celtic scholarship. This encyclopedia covers the entirety of the Celtic world, both through time and across geography. Although emphasizing the areas where Celtic languages and traditions survive into the present, the work does not slight the reaches of the Celtic empire, which was the largest language and cultural group on earth prior to the rise of Rome. In some 1,500 articles, many representing original research by the finest Celtic scholars, the work covers the Celts from prehistory to the present, giving comprehensive treatment to all topics from myth to music, religion to rulers, literature to language, government to games, and all topics in between. Entry into the rich world of Celtic scholarship has been difficult: The available information must be teased out of dense scholarly tomes or lightweight books emphasizing such popular elements of Celtic tradition as wee people, Druids, and blue-painted pagans. While this work treats those topics within its broad scope, the information is presented as scholarship, without the pop patina.

Geometric Greece: 900-700 B.C.

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Geometric Greece: 900-700 B.C.

by J.N Coldstream

Geometric Greece has long been the standard work on this absorbing period, which saw the evolution of the Greek city-states, the composition of the Homeric poems, the rise of the great Panhellenic sanctuaries and the first exodus of Greek colonists to southern Italy and Sicily.Professor Coldstream has now fully updated his comprehensive survey with a substantial new chapter on the abundant discoveries and developments made since the book's first publication.The text is presented in three main sections: the passing of the dark ages, c. 900-770 BC; the Greek renaissance, c. 770-700 BC, covered region by region, and the final part on life in eighth century Greece. Its geographical coverage in the Mediterranean ranges from Syria to Sicily, and the detailed archaeological evidence is amplified by reference to literary sources.Highly illustrated, including images of several finds never previously published, this is the essential handbook for anyone studying early Greek antiquity.

Paul Virilio - The Original Accident

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The Original Accident

by Paul Virilio

The future once promised the certainty of a better life for all, but now the future is full of uncertainty, danger and fear. Our lives are surrounded by the threats, imaginary or real, posed by terrorist outrages, natural catastrophes and disasters of all kinds. The future is overshadowed by the nightmare of an outmoded humanity overwhelmed by a catastrophe of its own making, a kind of catastrophic grande finale that would mirror the original accident ndash; the Big Bang ndash; that some scientists believe created the universe. A biting meditation on Progress ndash; technoscientific progress, at any cost and without any limits ndash; this book defines the ways in which postindustrial science has merged with out-and-out hyperterrorism to threaten the foundations of Greco-Roman, Judeo-Christian civilisation, and the future of the planet with them, through innovation of mass catastrophes that are part and parcel of its panoply of inventions. Urging us to face up to the consequences of our brave-new-world technologies, Virilio calls for the creation of a Museum of the Accident to fight our habituation to horror and violence, and our daily overexposure to terror, in the name, not of some preventive war, but of a preventive intelligence that would help us deal with both natural and artificial disasters.

Media Culture

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Media Culture: Cultural Studies, Identity and Politics Between the Modern and the Postmodern

by Douglas Kellner

Media Culture develops methods and analyses of contemporary film, television, music and other artifacts to discern their nature and effects, argueing that media culture is the dominant form of culture which socializes us and provides materials for identity, social reproduction and change. Through studies of Reagan and Rambo, horror films and youth films, rap music and African American culture, Madonna, fashion, television news and entertainment, MTV, Beavis and Butt-Head, the Gulf-War as cultural text, cyberpunk fiction and postmodern theory, Kellner provides a series of lively studies that both illuminate contemporary culture and provide methods of analysis and critique.
Many people today talk about cultural studies, but Kellner actually does it, carrying through a unique mixture of theoretical analyses and concrete discussions of some of the most popular and influential forms of contemporary media culture. Criticizing social context, political struggle, and the system of cultural production, Kellner develops a multi-dimensional approach to cultural studies that broadens the field and opens it to a variety of disiplines. He also provides approaches to the vexed question of the effects of culture and provides perspectives for cultural studies.

Critical Companion to James Joyce

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Critical Companion to James Joyce: A Literary Reference to His Life And Work

by A. Nicholas Fargnoli, Michael Patrick Gillespie (Authors)

The author of such classics as "Dubliners", "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man", "Ulysses", "Finnegans Wake", and more, James Joyce is regarded as one of the greatest writers of all time. Known for his experimental use of language, Joyce endured controversy surrounding much of his work, including one of the most famous censorship trials in history. "Critical Companion to James Joyce" examines this groundbreaking Irish novelist by exploring his work and influences, including family, friends, relatives, and acquaintances, as well as important places where he lived and worked. In this single-volume reference, admirers, general readers, and lovers of literature will discover hundreds of entries covering every aspect of Joyce's life and work. Coverage includes: a biography of Joyce; synopses and critical discussions of all Joyce's published work, with extensive analyses of the major fiction titles; profiles of significant members of Joyce's family and social circle; discussions of intellectual and literary influences on Joyce; accounts of censorship and legal battles; and characters in his fiction. Additional material includes: a working outline of Finnegans Wake; and the Ulysses schema.

Critical Companion to Herman Melville

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Critical Companion to Herman Melville: A Literary Reference to His Life And Work

by Carl E. Rollyson, Lisa Olson Paddock, April Gentry (Authors)

"An excellent resource for scholars of Melville and for undergraduates and graduate students" - "Choice". "Critical Companion to Herman Melville" examines the life and work of a writer who spent much of his career in obscurity. Herman Melville has since become known as one of America's greatest novelists, short story writers, and poets. The author of "Moby-Dick", "Billy Budd", "Typee", "White-Jacket", "Bartleby the Scrivener," and many other classic works, Melville was rediscovered in the 1920s by a new generation of writers who saw in his writing an evolving sense of modernism. His work is now an integral part of the high school and college curriculum, and writers as diverse as Jack London, William Faulkner, Norman Mailer, and Cormac McCarthy have paid homage to Melville's poetry and prose. Entries in this comprehensive volume examine the characters and settings of Melville's novels and short stories, the critics and scholars who commented on his work, and his friends and associates, including such prominent literary figures as Oliver Wendell Holmes and Nathaniel Hawthorne. This book also contains all the text of the previously published "Herman Melville A to Z", organized in a more user-friendly fashion. New to this edition are critical commentary essays on all Melville's major stories, poems, and novels; an expanded biography of Melville; new illustrations; and new appendixes, including contemporary reviews of Melville's work, bibliographies, a chronology, a genealogy, and more. Its coverage includes: a biography of Melville; synopses and critical assessments of Melville's major and minor works; details about family, friends, and associates; analyses of the culture, times, and places in which Melville lived and wrote; and, descriptions of whaling, South Seas travel, and other experiences that shaped Melville's work.

The Cambridge Companion to Jonathan Swift

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The Cambridge Companion to Jonathan Swift (Cambridge Companions to Literature)
by Christopher Fox

The Cambridge Companion to Jonathan Swift explores crucial dimensions of Swift's life and works. As well as ensuring a broad coverage of Swift's writing--including early and later works as well as the better known and the lesser known - the Companion also offers a way into current critical and theoretical issues surrounding the author. Special emphasis is placed on Swift's vexed relationship with the land of his birth, Ireland; and on his place as a political writer in a highly politicised age.

Critical Companion to William Shakespeare

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Critical Companion to William Shakespeare: A Literary Refernce to His Life and Work (Literary a to Z), 2 Volume Set

by Charles Boyce

Easily the most respected, revered, and researched author of all time, William Shakespeare and his works have forever changed the face of literature, inspiring playful discussion and heated debate for hundreds of years. He wrote such well-known plays as Hamplet, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, published more than 150 sonnets, and coined more than 1,500 new words. While much of his life remains a mystery, this engrossing reference examines all facets of Shakespeare and his writings. An essential two-volume resource for the study of this literary giant, Critical Companion to William Shakespeare contains more than 3,000 engaging entries, making it an authoritative reference to virtually everything one needs to know about the Bard and his works.

Theophilus of Alexandria

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Theophilus of Alexandria (The Early Church Fathers)

by Norman Russell

"Thoephilus of Alexandria" brings back into focus a figure who has long been neglected in the study of early Christianity and will provide students and lecturers with a fresh perspective into the first Origenist controversy, through texts translated into English for the very first time. Norman Russell's new assessment of Theophilus not only examines his efforts to Christianize an Egypt still denominated by its great temples, but also details his battle to maintain the pre-eminence of the Alexandrian Church in an age of rapid change. This significantly reveals the full power and range of his thinking. This book presents a refreshing take on one of the greatest bishops of the Theodosian era, who played an important role in a crucial phase of the Roman Empire's transformation into a Christian society. "Theophilus of Alexandria" will greatly appeal to students and lecturers involved in Early Christian Studies and Religion.

THEODORET OF CYRUS

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THEODORET OF CYRUS (The Early Church Fathers)

by Istvan Pasztori Kupan

Theodoret of Cyrus writings provide a unique insight in to the stormy years of theological debate between the third and the fourth ecumenical councils (431-451). Unfortunately, the larger part of his extant writings still remains untranslated, which provides a fragmented representation of his thought and has lead to his misrepresentation by ancient, medieval and some modern scholars. This book provides the reader with whole small tracts and representative selections and a more balanced picture of his often neglected, depreciated and largely inaccessible theological legacy.

EVAGRIUS PONTICUS

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EVAGRIUS PONTICUS (Early Church Fathers S.)

by Augustine Casiday

Evagrius Ponticus is an increasingly important figure in the scholarship of early Christianity, particularly regarding monasticism, mysticism and the general relationship of Christian theology to classical philosophy. His surviving works constitute probably the largest corpus of writings from any Desert Farther. Evagrius Ponticus provides the teaching of an early master of asceticism, not as filtered through a disciple, but as he himself propounded it. This volume will provide a valuable frame of reference for students of the Desert Fathers, of Origen and his legacy, and indeed of the Greek mystical tradition.

Gregory of Nazianzus

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Gregory of Nazianzus (Early Church Fathers S.)

by Brian Daley

Gregory of Nazianzus, a complex and colorful figure living during a crucial age in which it was permissible for the first time to be a public Christian intellectual (4th Century AD), was well placed to become one of the outstanding defenders and formulators of Trinitarian orthodoxy. A gifted and skilled rhetorician, poet, and orator, as well as a profound theologian, Gregory was ordained a bishop and served as head of the orthodox Christian community in Constantinople, where he played an important role in formulating the classical doctrines of the Trinity and the person of Christ. Under fire from opponents in the Church, the enigmatic Gregory soon retreated into a quiet life of study and simple asceticism, concentrating on quiet meditation and strengthening his canon of literature. Gregory's body of works, comprising poetry, letters, sermons and lectures on religious themes and written with the terseness and elegance of classical Greek literature, was canonized in the Byzantine age as equal to the greatest Greek writers before him. A collection of new translations of a selection of these achievements in literature and theology, with an extensive introduction to Gregory's life, thought, and writings, Gregory Nazianzus portrays a vivid picture of a fascinating character of vital importance; who deserves to be regarded as the first true Christian humanist.

Gregory the Great

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Gregory the Great (The Early Church Fathers)

by John Moorhead

Gregory's life culminated in his holding the office of pope (590 - 604). He is generally regarded as one of the outstanding figures in the long line of popes, and by the late ninth century had come to be known as "the Great". Along with Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine, he played a critical role in the history of his time. During the middle ages his intellectual influence was second only to that of Augustine.This volume provides a biographical and intellectual context to Gregory the Great, and new translations of his most influential writings.

The Private Worlds of Marcel Duchamp

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The Private Worlds of Marcel Duchamp: Desire, Liberation, and the Self in Modern Culture

by Jerrold Seigel

Marcel Duchamp is a founding figure of twentieth-century art and culture, the common source to which many contemporary movements trace their roots. His career has often been celebrated for its contradictions and discontinuities, its disparate parts unified only by their assault on the traditions of art. Jerrold Seigel offers a wholly different view, revealing a web of interrelated themes that unify Duchamp's work and tie it to his life.At the book's center is a reinterpretation of the famous "readymades," of which the urinal "Fountain" and the defaced Mona Lisa were the most shocking. By recovering their history, Seigel shows that their playful and rebellious surface veiled the meanings that linked them to Duchamp's pictures (especially the famous "Large Glass," here illuminated by a comprehensive new reading) and to his experiments with language. The result gives the artist's career the unity of a colorful and intricate puzzle.Behind that puzzle were the great modernist themes of isolation, perpetuated desire, and the imagined dissolution of the self. These themes entered Duchamp's mind both from his social and cultural environment and from the shaping experience of his family; around them were woven the patterns of working and loving that Seigel uncovers in his life. Duchamp emerges not just as a coherent, understandable personality, but as an exemplary one, his very eccentricities reflecting essential dimensions of modern experience.A mythic presence in modern culture, a hero whose story we tell for the sake of its valuable lessons, Duchamp opened the floodgates to a sea of questions about the nature and meaning of art. Seigel demands that we think again about these questions, and about the answers that Duchamp's heirs and followers have tried to give to them.

Literary Movements for Students

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Literary Movements for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Literary Movements

by David Galens (Editor)

Each chapter consists of an introduction, brief entries for representative authors and works, and discussion of themes, styles, variations, and historical context. An original signed critical essay is included in each chapter along with, in most cases, lengthy excerpts from one or more previously published critical works. Black-and-white photos, sidebars listing such items as media adaptations and suggested topics and resources for further study, bibliographies of source material, and annotated further reading lists complete most chapters. A particularly useful feature is "Compare and Contrast," in which the cultural and historical background of each movement is compared to conditions in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

A History of Western Political Thought

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A History of Western Political Thought

by J. S McClelland

A History of Western Political Thought traces the development and consolidation of a tradition of Western political thought from ancient Greece through to the development of the modern state, the American Enlightenment, the rise of liberalism and the very different reactions it engendered.McClelland's definition of politics encompasses both power wielded from above and power threatened from below. The sustained pursuit of this theme leads him to present an original and often controversial view of the theorists of the received canon and to add some writers to that canon whom he feels have been unjustly neglected.A History of Western Political Thought will inform, challenge, provoke and entertain any reader interested in what people have had to say about politics in the last two and a half thousand years and why it matters.

The Cambridge Introduction to Ezra Pound

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The Cambridge Introduction to Ezra Pound (Cambridge Introductions to Literature)

by Ira B. Nadel

Ezra Pound is one of the most visible and influential poets of the twentieth century. He is also one of the most complex, his poetry containing historical and mythical allusions, experiments of form and style and often controversial political views. Yet Pound's life and work continue to fascinate. This Introduction is designed to help students reading Pound for the first time. Pound scholar Ira B. Nadel provides a guide to the rich webs of allusion and stylistic borrowings and innovations in Pound's writing. He offers a clear overview of Pound's life, works, contexts and reception history and his multidimensional career as a poet, translator, critic, editor, anthologist and impresario, a career that placed him at the heart of literary modernism. This invaluable and accessible introduction explains the huge contribution Pound made to the development of modernism in the early twentieth century.

The Cambridge Introduction to Sylvia Plath

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The Cambridge Introduction to Sylvia Plath (Cambridge Introductions to Literature)

by Jo Gill

Sylvia Plath is widely recognized as one of the leading figures in twentieth-century Anglo-American literature and culture. Her work has constantly remained in print in the UK and US (and in numerous translated editions) since the appearance of her first collection in 1960. Plath's own writing has been supplemented over the decades by a wealth of critical and biographical material. The Cambridge Introduction to Sylvia Plath provides an authoritative and comprehensive guide to the poetry, prose and autobiographical writings of Sylvia Plath. It offers a critical overview of key readings, debates and issues from almost fifty years of Plath scholarship, draws attention to the historical, literary, national and gender contexts which frame her writing and presents informed and attentive readings of her own work. This accessibly written book will be of great use to students beginning their explorations of this important writer.

The Cambridge Introduction to T. S. Eliot

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The Cambridge Introduction to T. S. Eliot (Cambridge Introductions to Literature)

by John Xiros Cooper

Must-have guides designed to introduce students and teachers to key topics and authors. T. S. Eliot is not only one of the most important poets of the twentieth century; as literary critic and commentator on culture and society, his writing continues to be profoundly influential. Every student of English must engage with his writing to understand the course of modern literature. This book provides the perfect introduction to key aspects of Eliot's life and work, as well as to the wider contexts of modernism in which he wrote. John Xiros Cooper explains how Eliot was influenced by the intellectual climate of both twentieth-century Britain and America, and how he became a key cultural figure on both sides of the Atlantic. The continuing controversies surrounding his writing and his thought are also addressed. With a useful guide to further reading, this is the most informative and accessible introduction to T. S. Eliot.

The Cambridge Introduction to W.B. Yeats

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The Cambridge Introduction to W.B. Yeats (Cambridge Introductions to Literature)

by David Holdeman

Must-have guides designed to introduce students and teachers to key topics and authors. This introduction to one of the twentieth century's most important writers examines Yeats's poems, plays and stories in relation to biographical, literary, and historical contexts. Yeats wrote with passion and eloquence about personal disappointments, his obsession with Ireland, and the modern era's loss of faith in traditional beliefs about art, religion, empire, social class, gender and sex. His works uniquely reflect the gradual transition from Victorian aestheticism to the modernism of Pound, Eliot and Joyce. This is the first introductory study to consider his work in all genres in light of the latest biographies, new editions of his letters and manuscripts, and recent accounts by feminist and postcolonial critics. While using this introduction, students will have instant access to the world of current Yeats scholarship as well as being provided with the essential facts about his life and literary career and suggestions for further reading.

The Cambridge Introduction to Joseph Conrad

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The Cambridge Introduction to Joseph Conrad (Cambridge Introductions to Literature)

by John G. Peters

Must-have guides designed to introduce students and teachers to key topics and authors. Joseph Conrad is one of the most intriguing and important modernist novelists. His writing continues to preoccupy twenty-first-century readers. This introduction by a leading scholar is aimed at students coming to Conrad's work for the first time. The rise of postcolonial studies has inspired new interest in Conrad's themes of travel, exploration, and racial and ethnic conflict. John Peters explains how these themes are explored in his major works, Nostromo, Lord Jim and Heart of Darkness, as well as his short stories. He provides an essential overview of Conrad's fascinating life and career and his approach to writing and literature. A guide to further reading is included which points to some of the most useful secondary criticism on Conrad. This is the most comprehensive and concise introduction to studying Conrad available, and will be essential reading for students of the twentieth-century novel and of modernism.

Key Concepts in Literary Theory

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Key Concepts in Literary Theory

by Julian Wolfreys, Ruth Robbins, Kenneth Womack (Authors)

Key Concepts in Literary Theory provides authoritative and precise definitions of the most significant terms and concepts currently used in psychoanalytic, poststructuralist, Marxist, feminist, and postcolonial literary studies. The volume also presents clear discussions of the main areas of literary, critical, and cultural theory, supported by bibliographies and a chronology of major thinkers. Accompanying the chronology are short biographies of major works by each critic or theorist.
This revised edition of this comprehensive reference includes definition for more than seventy new terms and concepts, from Absurdism and Aga Saga to Writerly texts and Zeugma; a broader selection of classical rhetorical terms; an expanded chronology with a wider historical and cultural range, from Immanuel Kant to G.W.F. Hegel and bell hooks; and richer bibliographies including key texts by major critics.

Mircea Eliade - Cosmos and History. The Myth of the Eternal Return

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Cosmos and History. The Myth of the Eternal Return

By Mircea Eliade

The manuscript that was began in May, 1945, was headed Cosmos and History. It was only later that author changed its title to Archetypes and Repetition. But finally, at the suggestion of the French publisher, he made Archetypes and Repetition the subtitle, and the book was published in 1949 as The Myth of the Eternal Return (Le Mythe de reternel retour). This has sometimes given rise to misunderstandings. For one thing, the archaic ideology of ritual repetition, which was the central subject of my study, does not always imply the "myth of the eternal return." And then too, such a title could lead the reader to suppose that the book was principally concerned with the celebrated Greek myth or with its modern reinterpretation by Nietzsche, which is by no means the case.
The essential theme of investigation bears on the image of himself formed by the man of the archaic societies and on the place that he assumes in the Cosmos.The chief difference between the man of the archaic and traditional societies and the man of the modern societies with their strong imprint of Judaeo-Christianity lies in the fact that the former feels himself indissolubly connected with the Cosmos and the cosmic rhythms, whereas the latter insists that he is connected only with History.
This essay appeared in French in 1949 as Le Mythe de Veternel retour: archetypes et repetition (Paris, Librairie Gallimard). English translations have revised and enlarged the text and have included in the footnotes references to certain studies published within the last few years.

This founding work of the history of religions, first published in English in 1954

Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture

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Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture (Encyclopedias of Contemporary Culture (Routledge)) by Peter Childs

In over 970 alphabetically arranged entries, this single-volume encyclopedia examines both high and popular culture in the UK, and encompasses everything British--from architecture to pubs to film to internet to the monarchy. This unique encyclopedia casts its net over the whole range of British contemporary life. Entries range from short biographical synopses of the careers of key individuals to longer overview articles exploring the main issues within contemporary cultural debates. Bringing together subjects rarely found in one volume, the Encyclopedia defines "culture" in its broadest sense, with entries including:
Asian Press; BBC; Black Theatre; Michael Caine; Carnaby Street; Channel 4; Jasper Conran; Daniel Day-Lewis; Drink in Britain; FA Cup; Fantasy Football; Fashion (90s); Food; Football; Gay and Lesbian Culture; Glenda Jackson; Stanley Kubrick; Labour Party; Lucian Freud; Monarchy; Musicals; Notting Hill Carnival; Nick Park; Pop Art; Dennis Potter; Raves; The Rushdie Affair; and much more. The comprehensive system of cross-referencing and thematic contents list help readers to identify entries from particular fields. Students, travelers, journalists and general readers will find this an invaluable reference source on contemporary British life.

The Cambridge Companion to Herman Melville

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The Cambridge Companion to Herman Melville (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

by Robert S. Levine (Editor)

The Cambridge Companion to Herman Melville is intended to provide a critical introduction to Melville's work. The essays have been specially commissioned for this volume, and provide a comprehensive overview of Melville's career. All of Melville's novels are discussed, as well as most of his poetry and short fiction. Written at a level both challenging and accessible, the volume provides fresh perspectives on an American author whose work continues to fascinate readers and stimulate new study.

A Companion to the British and Irish Novel 1945 - 2000

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A Companion to the British and Irish Novel 1945 - 2000 (Blackwell Companions to Literature and Culture)

by Brian W. Shaffer (Editor)

A Companion to the British and Irish Novel 1945-2000 serves as an extended introduction and reference guide to the British and Irish novel between the close of World War II and the turn of the millennium. The Companion embraces the full range of this rich and heterogeneous subject, covering: specific British and Irish novels and novelists ranging from Samuel Beckett to Salman Rushdie; particular subgenres such as the feminist novel and the postcolonial novel; overarching cultural, political, and literary trends such as screen adaptations and the literary prize phenomenon. All the essays are informed by current critical and theoretical debates, but are designed to be accessible to non-specialists. The volume as a whole gives readers a sense of the vitality with which the contemporary novel continues to be discussed.

A Concise Companion to Shakespeare and the Text

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A Concise Companion to Shakespeare and the Text (Concise Companions to Literature and Culture)

by Andrew Murphy (Editor)

Among the very first English secular texts to be edited, the long history of adapting Shakespearersquo;s works has positioned them as a catalyst for theories of editing and textuality. A Concise Companion to Shakespeare and the Text introduces the manuscripts, editing practices, and publishing history of Shakespearersquo;s plays, and examines their influence on bibliographic studies as a whole. Written by leading scholars in the field, this comprehensive text examines the history of Shakespearersquo;s works in their subsequent editions, as well as the theories and practicalities of working with the texts. The first single-volume book to provide an accessible and authoritative introduction to Shakespearean bibliographic studies, this succinct text is an excellent resource for both students and faculty.

The Cambridge Companion to F. Scott Fitzgerald

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The Cambridge Companion to F. Scott Fitzgerald (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

by Ruth Prigozy (Editor)

Specially-commissioned essays by major Fitzgerald scholars present a clear and comprehensive assessment of F. Scott Fitzgerald. No aspect of his career is overlooked, from his first novel published in 1920, through his more than 170 short stories, to his last unfinished Hollywood novel. Contributions present the reader with an accessible picture of the background of American social and cultural change in the early decades of the twentieth century. The volume offers readers a full account of Fitzgerald's work as well as suggestions for further reading.

The Facts on File Companion to American Poetry

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The Facts on File Companion to American Poetry (Facts on File Companion to Literature)

by Burt Kimmelman, Temple Cone, Randall Huff (Authors)

"The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry" is a new and indispensable encyclopedic guide to American poetry with more than 1,200 entries, ranging in length from 500 to 1,500 words. Intended for high school and college students, this invaluable resource explores the various writers, works, themes, and movements of this intriguing literary genre.Volume 1 contains entirely new material, including new entries on poems, and extensive, new coverage on poets before 1900. Volume 2 is a revised and updated edition of "The Facts On File Companion to 20th-Century American Poetry", with more than 100 new entries added on important poems and recent poets. Its appendixes include a general bibliography and a list of winners for major poetry prizes.

Facts on File Companion to the American Novel

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Facts on File Companion to the American Novel (Companion to Literature) 3-Volume Set

by Abby H. P. Werlock (Editor)

By the author of the award-winning "The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story", this encyclopedic resource examines the great American novel in all of its diversity. Spanning the earliest novels that imitated the literary fashions of England to the 21st-century prize-winners, from literary classics to contemporary popular favorites, this reference traces the history of the novel in the United States. With more than 1,200 A-to-Z entries, this book helps readers deepen their understanding of the American novel and its place in literary history. Written in a clear, engaging style with contributions from literary scholars, this is the only reference work of its kind to analyze the American novel as a whole. A detailed introduction surveys the history of the American novel and discusses emerging trends. Many entries include bibliographies to guide further research. It includes: author biographies and bibliographies; synopses and analyses of major novels; and extended essays on major subjects, such as the African-American novel and mystery and detective novels.

Aristophanes And His Theatre of the Absurd

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Aristophanes And His Theatre of the Absurd

by Paul Cartledge (Editor)

Aristophanes, the Athenian comic dramatist, remains popular despite historical changes in attitude and belief. Placing the plays in their total civic, religious and dramatic context, this account explores their significance for contemporary audiences, and their continuing appeal. Separate chapters address aspects of his work and world, and attempt to outline the playwright's own opinions at a time of intense political debate. With original texts quoted in translation this comprehensive and lively study will provide students with an invaluable insight into the plays and their place in classical Athens.

Traditional Oral Epic

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Traditional Oral Epic: The Odyssey, Beowulf, and the Serbo-Croatian Return Song

by John Miles Foley

John Miles Foley offers an innovative and straightforward approach to the structural analysis of oral and oral-derived traditional texts. Professor Foley argues that to give the vast and complex body of oral "literature" its due, we must first come to terms with the endemic heterogeneity of traditional oral epics, with their individual histories, genres, and documents, as well as both the synchronic and diachronic aspects of their poetics.Until now, the emphasis in studies of oral traditional works has been placed on addressing the correspondences among traditions--shared structures of "formula," "theme," and "story-pattern." Traditional Oral Epic explores the incongruencies among traditions and focuses on the qualities specific to certain oral and oral-derived works. It is certain to inspire further research in this field.

The Languages of Aristophanes

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The Languages of Aristophanes: Aspects of Linguistic Variation in Classical Attic Greek (Oxford Classical Monographs)

by Andreas Willi

By examining linguistic variation in Aristophanic comedy, Andreas Willi opens up a new perspective on intra-dialectal diversity in Classical Attic Greek. A representative range of registers, technical languages, sociolects, and (comic) idiolects is described and analyzed. Stylistic and statistical observations are combined and supplemented by typological comparisons with material drawn from sociolinguistic research on modern languages. The resulting portrayal of the Attic dialect deepens our understanding of various socio-cultural phenomena reflected in Aristophanes' work.

Robert Schumann: Herald of a "New Poetic Age"

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Robert Schumann: Herald of a "New Poetic Age"

by John Daverio

Forced by a hand injury to abandon a career as a pianist, Robert Schumann went on to become one of the world's great composers. Among many works, his Spring Symphony (1841), Piano Concerto in A Minor (1841/1845), and the Third, or Rhenish, Symphony (1850) exemplify his infusion of classical forms with intense, personal emotion. His musical influence continues today and has inspired many other famous composers in the century since his death. Indeed Brahms, in a letter of January 1873, wrote: "The remembrance of Schumann is sacred to me. I will always take this noble pure artist as my model."
Now, in Robert Schumann: Herald of a "New Poetic Age," John Daverio presents the first comprehensive study of the composer's life and works to appear in nearly a century. Long regarded as a quintessentially romantic figure, Schumann also has been portrayed as a profoundly tragic one: a composer who began his career as a genius and ended it as a mere talent. Daverio takes issue with this Schumann myth, arguing instead that the composer's entire creative life was guided by the desire to imbue music with the intellectual substance of literature. A close analysis of the interdependence among Schumann's activities as reader, diarist, critic, and musician reveals the depth of his literary sensibility. Drawing on documents only recently brought to light, the author also provides a fresh outlook on the relationship between Schumann's mental illness--which brought on an extended sanitarium stay and eventual death in 1856--and his musical creativity. Schumann's character as man and artist thus emerges in all its complexity. The book concludes with an analysis of the late works and a postlude on Schumann's influence on successors from Brahms to Berg.
This well-researched study of Schumann interprets the composer's creative legacy in the context of his life and times, combining nineteenth-century cultural and intellectual history with a fascinating analysis of the works themselves.

Conservation of Ruins

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Conservation of Ruins (Butterworth-Heinemann Series in Conservation and Museology)

by John Ashurst

Despite growing international awareness of the presence and significance of ruined buildings and archaeological sites, and the increasingly sophisticated technology available for the collection of data about them, these sites continue to be at risk across the globe.
Conservation of Ruins defines and describes these risks, which range from neglect, to destructive archaeology, and even well-meaning intervention in the name of tourism. The book provides detailed, practical instruction on the conservation and stabilisation of ruins by structural and non-structural means, as well as describing the procedures and conditions that need to be in place to ensure the protection of our important historic sites.
In considering aspects of architectural conservation, archaeology and ecology together for the first time, this book provides an integrated, holistic view of this international topic that will be essential reading for those working in this field
* The only book that integrates philosophy, practical conservation, archaeology and ecology of ruined buildings and their states* Demonstrates essential principles using international case studies* Examines the key threats to ruins, and how to protect against them