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Poetics of race offers the readers a combined historical, political and aesthetic approach to the symbolic representation of race in Latin America in different periods and cultural regions. Chapters focus on issues of social conflict, identity politics and self-recognition by historically marginalized populations, such as indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, and Asian immigrants. 

Literary texts, cultural practices and visual arts (painting, film) are analyzed as representative moments in the process of social and political recognition of subaltern subjectivities and non-dominant cultures, providing insightful studies of negritude, indigenous cultures and Japanese communities in Latin America. Through the exploration of different media and alternative critical categories, Poetics of Race proposes new avenues for the comparative and intersectional study of race, gender and class in postcolonial societies.

Academic writing is built on choices, and even a single word can change the strength and direction of an argument. This book helps students move beyond formulas, showing how to draft with purpose, revise for clarity, and build credible, well-supported claims. Through real examples, practical exercises, and clear explanations, it guides writers from research planning to sentence-level refinement. Suitable for both classroom use and independent study, it turns the process of writing academic essays into an engaging practice that develops critical thinking and precision, giving students the tools to succeed across disciplines and in real-world communication.

This book offers a ground-breaking exploration of the aesthetics of poetic freedom. The range is broad, from antiquity to the present and from Europe and the Middle East into the poetry of the English-speaking world. Silent reading is shown as developing for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire into a fashionable way of reading, starting with the invention of the sonnet in the High Middle Ages. The social use of the word “we,” as when a society generalizes about itself, first appears in poetry in T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” In Goethe’s “Roman Elegies” anachronism becomes a literary device—also, it seems, for the first time—introducing a novel timelessness essential to modern affirmations of infinity.

Revealing questions about the elusiveness of poetic freedom—what does the term actually mean?—are repeatedly tested against the accomplishments of major poets such as Whitman, Dickinson, Rilke, Dante and Virgil, and their public yet intensely private originality. The result is a fresh, and well-nigh revolutionary, way of seeing literary and modern history, or an initiation into the more striking gift of aesthetic freedom.

This book offers a ground-breaking exploration of the aesthetics of poetic freedom. The range is broad, from antiquity to the present and from Europe and the Middle East into the poetry of the English-speaking world. Silent reading is shown as developing for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire into a fashionable way of reading, starting with the invention of the sonnet in the High Middle Ages. The social use of the word “we,” as when a society generalizes about itself, first appears in poetry in T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” In Goethe’s “Roman Elegies” anachronism becomes a literary device—also, it seems, for the first time—introducing a novel timelessness essential to modern affirmations of infinity.

Revealing questions about the elusiveness of poetic freedom—what does the term actually mean?—are repeatedly tested against the accomplishments of major poets such as Whitman, Dickinson, Rilke, Dante and Virgil, and their public yet intensely private originality. The result is a fresh, and well-nigh revolutionary, way of seeing literary and modern history, or an initiation into the more striking gift of aesthetic freedom.

‘Poetry and the Idea of Progress, 1760–1790’ explores under-examined relationships between poetry and historiography between 1760 and 1790. These were the decades of Hugh Blair’s ‘Dissertation on the Poems of Ossian, the Son of Fingal’ (1763) and ‘Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres’ (1783), Thomas Percy’s ‘Reliques of Ancient English Poetry’ (1765), Adam Ferguson’s ‘Essay on the History of Civil Society’ (1767) and Lord Monboddo’s ‘Of the Origin and Progress of Language’ (1774). In these texts and many more, verse is examined for what it can tell the historian about the progress of enlightened man to civil society. By historicizing poetry, these theorists used it as a lens through which we might observe our development from savagery to ‘polish’, with oral verse often cited as proof of the backwardness or immaturity of man from which he has awoken.

‘Poetry and the Idea of Progress, 1760–1790’ deepens our understanding of the relationship between poetry and ideas of progress with sustained attention to aesthetic, historical, antiquarian and prosodic texts from these decades. In five case studies, this volume demonstrates how verse was employed to deliver deeply ambivalent reports on human progress. In this pre-‘Romantic’, pre-‘Utilitarian’ age, those reading verse with an eye to what it could convey about the journey towards the Enlightenment Republic of letters were in fact telling stories as subtle and ambiguous as the rhythms of the verse being read. Rather than focusing on a limited set of particular poets, ‘Poetry and the Idea of Progress, 1760–1790’ pays close attention to the theories of versification which were circulating in the later anglophone eighteenth century. With numerous examples from poems and writing on poetics, this book shows how the poetic line becomes a site at which one may make assertions about human development even as one may observe and appreciate the expressive effects of metred language.

The central contention of ‘Poetry and the Idea of Progress, 1760–1790’ is that the historians and theorists of the time did not merely instrumentalize verse in the construction of historical narratives of progress, but that attention to the particular characteristics of verse (rhythm and metre, line endings, stress contours, rhyme, etc.) had a kind of agency – it crucially reshaped – historical knowledge in the time. ‘Poetry and the Idea of Progress, 1760–1790’ is a sustained assertion that poetry makes appeals to what was known as one’s ‘taste’, exerting aesthetic forces, and by so doing mediating one’s understanding of human development. It claims that this mediation has a special shape and force that has never undergone sufficient exploration.

The book scrutinizes the poetries of Oodgeroo Noonuccal (1920–1993), Lionel Fogarty (1958– ), and Amiri Baraka and Sonia Sanchez (1943– ), focusing on their relatively comparable sociopolitical, and literary  concerns and aspirations, though they are ethnically diverse and geographically dispersed. What I have attempted to do here is an integration of their idiosyncratic differences. This objective is grounded upon the fact that the role of poetry in this struggle and the international connections between the political movements in which these poets were involved have been overlooked in historical narratives of Australia and the United States, although Aboriginal and African American representation in the political narratives did improve during the 1960s. In fact, these poets not only merged writing poetry with a commitment to their peoples’ political activism, but also actively participated in their peoples’ political activism. They collaborated with other civil rights activists and participated in rallies and demonstrations. Sanchez and Fogarty are still involved. In their poetries, they recorded their peoples’ pathos, injustices, social needs and political aspirations. Therefore, the book’s confluence of poetics and politics is original because it aims to demonstrate how these poets voice the demands of their peoples, and how they use their poetries to reflect the realities they experienced during this period. Additionally, the book demonstrates how these poets resist cultural and linguistic hegemony and how they adapt their peoples’ cultures and languages in their poetries to oppose literary universalism.

Instead of tracing the general development of Aboriginal and African American poetries during this period, I narrow the scope of my research to the poetries of these four selected poets, placing their works in broader, international contexts by drawing trans-Pacific connections between their poetries. The contribution of this book lies in its study of poetic intertextuality and common themes, and in the evaluation of the impact (direct or indirect) of African American poets, particularly those of the Black Arts movement, upon Aboriginal poets. Thus, the book should be seen as a starting point, rather than the final word on transnational exchanges between these movements. It should be noted that the poets I have chosen are not a comprehensive selection of Aboriginal or African American poets. Moreover, by selecting 1960s and 1980s as historical makers in the title of this book, my aim is not to narrow the scope of my research to the poetry publications of these poets to these decades, as, for instance, Oodgeroo began writing in the 60s and continued till her passing in 1993, and Fogarty began writing in the 70s and continues to the present, nor to limit these poets’ political and literary activism within this period, as Fogarty and Sanchez still involved in their peoples’ political activism. My intention is to demonstrate how these decades are significant in the literary and political developments of Aboriginal Australian and African American peoples, showing the role of many international sociopolitical and cultural upheavals, which took place during the 1960s, in shaping the literary and political ideologies of these poets.

 I have treated the poetries of these poets as an example of distinct poetics, which is not bounded by the borders of a territory or by geography as abstracted on a map, situating them along the lines of what Chadwick Allen (2012) calls “together (yet) distinct”. This literary-political relation enables the poetries of these geo-ethnically distinct poets to be read within a single critical frame, and we can place their poetries as part of a larger, international revolutionary ‘Black’ literary movement. As such, this book helps to identify a significant trans-local connection to add to the already existing connections between Australian Aboriginal politics and poetics and those of First Nations peoples across the globe. This synthesis can also be seen as a way to remap Aboriginal and African American literary discourses as well as mainstream anticipation of them and their pre-established literary positions. This book also invites the dominant critical studies to consider the new literary approaches adopted by these minorities, which challenge the individualistic literary genres and narratives in both countries. It is hoped that the synthesis of these geo-poetically diverse poets may stimulate further literary investigations in the field of Aboriginal and African American poetries.

Polar Shift addresses how to sustain the Arctic's richness, beauty, and local and global value. Its core describes programs specifically created to protect this region: the great inventory of law, policy, and civil society activity targeting sustainability of the region. It presents the Arctic’s environmental health very broadly understood and competing ideas of how it can be maintained or improved with specific recommendations. This is a book about the Arctic's past and how it was envisioned, about its environment, its people, and their cultures.

Polar Shift describes how the changing of the Arctic matters and to whom. It asks: Is it of serious concern if the Arctic becomes warmer? If its glaciers shrink away and its polar bears are found in zoos only? If cultures and traditions based on cold are changing? Is it acceptable if cultures adapt to a less cold world?

What if it's warming, thawing, melting, and other changes reflect significant global environmental shifts? What if the Arctic's instability affects society as a whole: if it bodes for bad changes: sunken cities throughout the world, cultural practices precluded, traditions and languages lost, species gone extinct, major metropolitan areas so hot as to be unlivable, and massive movements of people from inhospitable regions?

Why does it matter which countries are considered Arctic nations? Countries want to be seen as Arctic for several reasons. They may want access to a boom of extractable resources: oil, gas, and special metals. Some nations have a deep interest in protecting the Arctic, preserving what is pristine, and improving what is threatened. And some want to influence major international transit routes and rules for going through them to save time and money for international trade. Nations also view the region for significant security and military concerns. Who has and should have a decision-making say on these questions is a matter of high global stakes.

Polar Shift addresses how to sustain the Arctic's richness, beauty, and local and global value. Its core describes programs specifically created to protect this region: the great inventory of law, policy, and civil society activity targeting sustainability of the region. It presents the Arctic’s environmental health very broadly understood and competing ideas of how it can be maintained or improved with specific recommendations. This is a book about the Arctic's past and how it was envisioned, about its environment, its people, and their cultures.

Polar Shift describes how the changing of the Arctic matters and to whom. It asks: Is it of serious concern if the Arctic becomes warmer? If its glaciers shrink away and its polar bears are found in zoos only? If cultures and traditions based on cold are changing? Is it acceptable if cultures adapt to a less cold world?

What if it's warming, thawing, melting, and other changes reflect significant global environmental shifts? What if the Arctic's instability affects society as a whole: if it bodes for bad changes: sunken cities throughout the world, cultural practices precluded, traditions and languages lost, species gone extinct, major metropolitan areas so hot as to be unlivable, and massive movements of people from inhospitable regions?

Why does it matter which countries are considered Arctic nations? Countries want to be seen as Arctic for several reasons. They may want access to a boom of extractable resources: oil, gas, and special metals. Some nations have a deep interest in protecting the Arctic, preserving what is pristine, and improving what is threatened. And some want to influence major international transit routes and rules for going through them to save time and money for international trade. Nations also view the region for significant security and military concerns. Who has and should have a decision-making say on these questions is a matter of high global stakes.

What role did Polish philosophers play in shaping human destiny?
First of all, one must keep in mind that the philosopher’s role is to eradicate stupidity, especially when it is dressed in fashionable togs, wrapped in clever phrases, and passed off as truth or, at least, as good common sense. He opposes those who believe they know everything when, in fact, they know nothing at all. He is confident in his wisdom for he does not claim to know what he does not. One simply cannot know everything, he repeats; the person who has an answer to every question is a fool. Or an ideologue. In other words, the philosopher is wise because he does not talk for the sake of talking. His knowledge is inevitably partial. The question arises: is there a reliable method to discern wisdom from folly? How can we unmask thoughtlessness that dresses itself in the peacock feathers of applause and masquerades as wisdom? Who sets the criteria that separate is the wise from the hollow and the vain? The philosopher does, precisely the very one who knows that he knows nothing. That is how Socrates would put it. But the Socratic tradition never really took root among Polish philosophers.
I have often wondered why Leszek Kołakowski—in his early life a Marxist, later a Christian—did not become the Polish “Socrates.” Of all Polish philosophers, he was probably the only one who qualified for the role. Yet although charismatic and excellently educated, he could not be such a figure while a member of the Communist Party and a follower of other people’s ideas. He could only have become one in exile, in the 1970s, when he assumed an informal leadership in the democratic opposition. This, however, is a fiction. One cannot be a “Socrates” at a distance, in absentia.
The prewar analytic philosophers, like the postwar “Marxians,” were confident in determining the conditions of cognition. They never spoke on things they did not understand, but also knew exactly what they were talking about. Their knowledge was not unrelated to the environment from which they arose and which they went on to develop/shape. For that reason, their philosophical choices were also political ones. Philosophy, after all, challenges the monopoly of politics (and, if religion influences politics, of religion as well) in the development of one’s world-view. Independent thinkers cannot be told what to think or how to think. Philosophy weans one off humility, undermines authority, and insists on independent judgment which is not welcomed by politicians or by the average person. The general distrust toward philosophy necessarily feeds its proverbial “elitism,” that attitude of “anything you can know, I can know better.” The philosopher is not at ease in a crowd, and the Polish philosopher is no exception. It is not his element. He prefers the company of a few carefully chosen companions, meeting privately. That is enough for him. He can prove that virtues such as courage, friendship, justice, and wisdom—usually practiced in public life—may also be cultivated privately. In seminars, in homes, he finds his voice and regains balance.
Practicing philosophy on the periphery has often been presented in court—in the days of Socrates, under Hitler, under communists, and even in democracy—as something semi-criminal or utterly frivolous. At the same time, philosophers seem to make light of something essentially fundamental: that they know too much to be entirely safe and that their fate is already sealed. Those who recognized this early adapted to the prevailing historical conditions. They kept their heads, it is true, but at the cost of betraying their vocation. They invoked ideology as the path of collective progress, only to spend the rest of their lives, in a Münchausen-like manner, struggling to haul themselves out of the swamp into which they had sunk—partly by the dictates of history, partly by their own free will. I suggest dismissing the rumor spread by Czesław Miłosz about the “Hegelian bite” as nothing more than fairy tales. A quarter-century earlier, one of those who might have been susceptible to such a temptation had already preemptively discredited it. As Leszek Kołakowskie wrote, “No one is relieved of the moral obligation to oppose a system of government, a doctrine, or a social order that he regards as base and inhuman by pleading that he considers it historically necessary. We are against that form of moral relativism which assumes that the criteria for a moral assessment of human behaviour can be derived from knowledge of the secrets of the Weltgeist.”

This book compiles Peter Winch’s previously unpublished manuscripts on political philosophy, together with editorial notes and references to relevant literature.

Winch is best known as the founder of post-war analytic philosophy of the social sciences, and as one of the rare post-war British philosophers who engaged with continental thought, in particular Simone Weil (on whom he wrote a book), Jürgen Habermas, and Karl-Otto Apel. Throughout his career, he also wrote on issues in political philosophy, with particular focus on questions to do with the legitimacy of the state and on the philosophies of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Simone Weil. Materials toward a book on the topic have lain in the Peter Winch archives since then, accessible only to philosophers able to visit in person. In this volume these notes are published in full, supplemented by selections from Winch's late lectures on law and authority and cross-referenced with his published discussions of political philosophy and related topics (e.g., punishment, agency).

In these unpublished writings, Winch diagnoses problematic assumptions about agency and about the relationship between language and society as these shape the social contract tradition. Winch’s critique of misconceptions of individual agency in political philosophy focuses the attention away from reasons for action discourse and toward the complex and socially constituted relations between agency, justice, and force. Following Wittgenstein’s injunction that a philosopher should always avoid hasty generalisation, Winch’s approach to questions of the legitimacy of the state is marked out by sensitivity to contextual features, including the needs and interests which influence the form that such questions take, whether those be securing peace in civil war (Hobbes), defending a nation from fascism (Weil), or rationalizing the seizure of indigenous lands by conquest (Locke).

In addition to its interest as a Wittgensteinian treatment of key questions in political philosophy, this volume supplements Winch’s published work on Wittgenstein, ethics, the social sciences, and Spinoza. This volume, the second to come from research of the Peter Winch archives, fills in our understanding of Winch's philosophical oeuvre, drawing out the implications of his work for questions in political philosophy. In addition, the volume contributes to the emerging picture of some post-war British philosophers resisting the impoverishment of narrow logical analysis and the disengagement of philosophy from life and society.

The changes triggered by the global financial crisis in 2008, the immigration flows and the covid-19 pandemic in contemporary societies have transformed the way individuals communicate, create content, and ‘consume’ publicly available information. Consequently, political, societal, and financial pressures have led to alternative forms of media practice and representations and disrupted the core relationships and dynamics between politics, journalism, and society.

In this context, several challenges emerge which are related to deeper social and cultural changes. Such challenges influence political communication and its relationship with the media and further impact the boundaries between private and public domains. Some of these challenges also constitute a direct challenge to democratic values and in some cases work against the preservation and strengthening of democracy. Moreover, all these developments are taking place at a time when democracy itself and its ‘chronic diseases’ are under criticism by new forms of authoritarianism and totalitarianism.

This edited book examines the key challenges in political discourse and journalistic practice in times of crisis. It focuses on European paradigms and links political rhetoric and media challenges with the societal, political, and financial crises from 2008 until the present.

This volume brings together original and timely writings by internationally renowned scholars that reflect on the current trajectories of global capitalism and, in the light of these, consider likely, possible or desirable futures. Essays focus to varying degrees on developing distinctive theoretical frameworks and using them to clarify both the history of the present political economy and how progressive political economic trends might be extended from the present into the future. A distinctive feature of the collection is its effort to develop new mediations between theory and history, a deeply problematic relationship in the social sciences. These contributions offer original perspectives both to theory construction and to the use of theory in historical analysis. In short, this volume provides theory-informed writing that contextualizes empirical research on current world-historic events and trends with an eye towards realizing a future of human, social and economic betterment.

This volume brings together original and timely writings by internationally renowned scholars that reflect on the current trajectories of global capitalism and, in the light of these, consider likely, possible or desirable futures. Essays focus to varying degrees on developing distinctive theoretical frameworks and using them to clarify both the history of the present political economy and how progressive political economic trends might be extended from the present into the future. A distinctive feature of the collection is its effort to develop new mediations between theory and history, a deeply problematic relationship in the social sciences. These contributions offer original perspectives both to theory construction and to the use of theory in historical analysis. In short, this volume provides theory-informed writing that contextualizes empirical research on current world-historic events and trends with an eye towards realizing a future of human, social and economic betterment.

Reimagines political theory through a critical political theology that challenges liberal individualism and proposes a historically grounded, action-oriented vision of political reason and subjectivity informed by eschatological time.

Political theology classically and traditionally was about legitimizing state power by grounding it in a metaphysical order revealed in nature. Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan interrupted this tradition and set political theory on a new, culturally modern course. Hobbes secularized biblical myth to describe how a political order based on a social contract among naturally free and independent individuals works. Hobbes was a natural scientist, and the development of the modern sciences in which Hobbes participated undermined confidence in any natural order based on metaphysical principles. He defined liberty in terms derived from physics as simply the absence of impediments and defended the freedom of individuals to think for themselves. Hobbes also was an early modern biblical critic subjecting biblical texts to historical criticism, and he might be said to have demythologized the Leviathan: his mythological beast turns out to be a big machine. But Hobbes also recognized the usefulness of religion for understanding and encouraging obedience to state power. He stipulated that the Sovereign has the power to establish the religion to be espoused publicly in the worship and opinions of the subjects of the state but at the same time (and in line with his modern principles) allowed for individuals to maintain a private reserve regarding their personal beliefs, thereby opening the door to conflicts that bedevil political life today. The new political theology of Johann Baptist Metz offers a way to work through the tensions and conflicts of contemporary political life. Classical political theology and modern social contract theory are both concerned with establishing and legitimizing order and (at least for modern political theory) security. Metz’s political theology shifts attention to the meaning of political action and the perpetually unfulfilled hope for justice in history. Metz participated in Marxist-Christian dialogue in the 1960s leading him to a “theology of the world” which reads the world as eschatological history (in the manner of Walter Benjamin’s messianic history) rather than as nature and understands historical action as informed by hope in the promise of political justice, a promise defined negatively (in the manner of Theodor Adorno’s critical negativity) as the “eschatological proviso” that all political systems are provisional in light of the unrealized promise of justice. Metz understands reason anamnestically as based on “dangerous memories” (another Benjamin category) of past suffering or anamnestic solidarity with the dead whose suffering precludes closure of meaning. Metz offers an image for this work expressed in terms of the cultural history of the West: he is proposing a return to “Jerusalem” as understood in Tertullian’s distinction “Jerusalem versus Athens.” Christian theology turned to “Athens” and categories derived from Greek philosophy to explain itself. Both Tertullian and Metz called for a return to “Jerusalem” and the categories of (Jewish) biblical thinking. For Tertullian, this was preserving faith from rational criticism; for Metz, “Jerusalem” is still about reason. But Metz also recognizes the threats to this history-integrated reason like the Holocaust. This requires confronting the challenge of Auschwitz as a paradigm of meaningless suffering that cannot be explained; neither can it be denied, and we are left with unanswerable questions that nevertheless must direct our thinking. A new political theology makes possible new ways of thinking through the challenges of modern political culture. A primary case is political subjectivity. Modern political culture begins with liberal individualism: the question becomes why rational individuals live together in organized groups. For Hobbes, our natural freedom and equality result in the war of each against all, making life “nasty, brutish, and short.” Our response is to enter a social contract in which we hand over some of our liberty to a state we create to protect our lives (and property). At base, politics is about survival (biopolitics), about bare life and not the good human life. An alternative is the political subjectivity found in the Israelite prophet Amos whose understanding of repentance locates the meaning of individual lives in their maintenance of the covenant vitality of the people. Individual existence derives from community life without being incorporated into collective identity. Hannah Arendt and Judith Butler offer parallel insights into political subjectivity: Arendt by finding a related political subjectivity in Socrates and by describing freedom as the human capacity to do something new that depends on being witnessed by others to become real, and Butler by describing subjectivity as developing in responsibility to and with others. Rather than conflict and contradiction between the individual and community, politics is where we exist as free subjects. (Other cases also are examined.)

'Politics and the Theory of Language in the USSR 1917-1938' provides ground-breaking research into the complex interrelations of linguistic theory and politics during the first two decades of the USSR. The work examines how the new Revolutionary regime promoted linguistic research that scrutinised the relationship between language, social structure, national identity and ideological factors as part of an attempt to democratize the public sphere. It also looks at the demise of the sociological paradigm, as the isolation and bureaucratization of the state gradually shifted the focus of research.

Through this account, the collection formally acknowledges the achievements of the Soviet linguists of the time, whose innovative approaches to the relationship between language and society predates the emergence of western sociolinguistics by several decades. These articles are the first articles written in English about these linguists, and will introduce an Anglophone audience to a range of materials hitherto unavailable.

In addition to providing new articles, the volume also presents the first annotated translation of Ivan Meshchaninov's 1929 'Theses on Japhetidology', thereby providing insight into one of the most controversial strands within Soviet linguistic thought.

'Politics and the Theory of Language in the USSR 1917-1938' provides ground-breaking research into the complex interrelations of linguistic theory and politics during the first two decades of the USSR. The work examines how the new Revolutionary regime promoted linguistic research that scrutinised the relationship between language, social structure, national identity and ideological factors as part of an attempt to democratize the public sphere. It also looks at the demise of the sociological paradigm, as the isolation and bureaucratization of the state gradually shifted the focus of research.

Through this account, the collection formally acknowledges the achievements of the Soviet linguists of the time, whose innovative approaches to the relationship between language and society predates the emergence of western sociolinguistics by several decades. These articles are the first articles written in English about these linguists, and will introduce an Anglophone audience to a range of materials hitherto unavailable.

In addition to providing new articles, the volume also presents the first annotated translation of Ivan Meshchaninov's 1929 'Theses on Japhetidology', thereby providing insight into one of the most controversial strands within Soviet linguistic thought.

This collection of essays covers a broad range of disciplines to produce a work that rethinks relationships and divisions in gender, geography, class relations, culture and much more to create a true 'politics of the possible'.

Broadly emphasizing forms, ideologies and class relations, Sangari's essays crisscross and cohere around several themes: the politics of social location and the connection between local, metropolitan and colonial geographies as they bear on debates about the nature of knowledge; the transnational and regional production of ideologies such as altruism under the aegis of colonialism; ways of theorizing women's labour, literacy and consent to patriarchal arrangements and dominant ideologies.

Sangari's analysis of Indian English and the relationships between 'literature' and the non-literary change, the way we consider the divisions between the metropolitan and the sub-continental. In her discussion of capitalism and colonialism, her egalitarian feminist viewpoint opens up and questions issues of cultural autonomy and hybridity. She also critiques the impact of race, caste, class, religion and misogyny on patriarchal ideology and its effect on women.

The 'politics of the possible' mapped by these essays presents itself in several areas: as a more sensitive feminist historiography; as the social potential for secular activity in seemingly impossible situations; in the historical possibilities that were offered by situations not doomed to inevitable outcomes; and as the elements of resistance produced by the contradictions of different structures of oppression..

This collection of essays covers a broad range of disciplines to produce a work that rethinks relationships and divisions in gender, geography, class relations, culture and much more to create a true 'politics of the possible'.

Broadly emphasizing forms, ideologies and class relations, Sangari's essays crisscross and cohere around several themes: the politics of social location and the connection between local, metropolitan and colonial geographies as they bear on debates about the nature of knowledge; the transnational and regional production of ideologies such as altruism under the aegis of colonialism; ways of theorizing women's labour, literacy and consent to patriarchal arrangements and dominant ideologies.

Sangari's analysis of Indian English and the relationships between 'literature' and the non-literary change, the way we consider the divisions between the metropolitan and the sub-continental. In her discussion of capitalism and colonialism, her egalitarian feminist viewpoint opens up and questions issues of cultural autonomy and hybridity. She also critiques the impact of race, caste, class, religion and misogyny on patriarchal ideology and its effect on women.

The 'politics of the possible' mapped by these essays presents itself in several areas: as a more sensitive feminist historiography; as the social potential for secular activity in seemingly impossible situations; in the historical possibilities that were offered by situations not doomed to inevitable outcomes; and as the elements of resistance produced by the contradictions of different structures of oppression..

Neoliberalism has transformed work, welfare and democracy. However, its impacts, and its future, are more complex than we often imagine. Alongside growing inequality, social spending has been rising. Politics, Inequality and the Australian Welfare State After Liberalisation asks how we understand this contradictory politics and what opportunities exist to create a more equal society. It argues an older welfare state politics, driven by the power of industrial labour, is giving way to political contests led by workers within the welfare state itself. Advancing more equal social policy, though, requires new forms of statecraft, or ways of doing policy, as well as new models of organising.

 Drawing on examples of social policy change since the 1980s, the book explores how seemingly similar reforms reflect distinct political dynamics and facilitate different social outcomes. The examples reflect the main aspects of liberalisation – conditionality of benefits, marketisation of services and financialisation of the life course. Across each domain, it identifies examples that fit the ‘neoliberal’ frame and alternatives that appear to subvert it. From family payments to Medicare, social protection advanced using remarkably similar policy tools to those associated with liberalisation. The book identifies two competing welfare state projects. A ‘dual welfare state’ of hidden subsidies to privatised welfare alongside increasingly residualised public systems that stigmatise recipients, and a 'hybrid’ model of marketised universalism that uses novel forms of statecraft to socialise risk while advancing competition.

 Rather than explaining how Australia fell prey to neoliberalism, the book identifies an ongoing struggle between competing visions of liberalisation. Dual welfare deepens inequality by concealing the distributional effects of state policy, building a sizeable coalition of largely older voters, insulated from the insecurities of precarious work and benefiting from rising house prices. Hybrid policies, it argues, emerged at the intersection of sympathetic bureaucracies and strong social pressure. Central to both are workers within the welfare state and the unions that represent them. The analysis recasts divides based on generation and education as reflecting the increasingly central role of social reproduction within the paid economy, and the strategies of care workers to have their skills and value recognised. The analysis opens opportunities for new models of solidarity based on an ethic of care.

Neoliberalism has transformed work, welfare and democracy. However, its impacts, and its future, are more complex than we often imagine. Alongside growing inequality, social spending has been rising. Politics, Inequality and the Australian Welfare State After Liberalisation asks how we understand this contradictory politics and what opportunities exist to create a more equal society. It argues an older welfare state politics, driven by the power of industrial labour, is giving way to political contests led by workers within the welfare state itself. Advancing more equal social policy, though, requires new forms of statecraft, or ways of doing policy, as well as new models of organising.

 Drawing on examples of social policy change since the 1980s, the book explores how seemingly similar reforms reflect distinct political dynamics and facilitate different social outcomes. The examples reflect the main aspects of liberalisation – conditionality of benefits, marketisation of services and financialisation of the life course. Across each domain, it identifies examples that fit the ‘neoliberal’ frame and alternatives that appear to subvert it. From family payments to Medicare, social protection advanced using remarkably similar policy tools to those associated with liberalisation. The book identifies two competing welfare state projects. A ‘dual welfare state’ of hidden subsidies to privatised welfare alongside increasingly residualised public systems that stigmatise recipients, and a 'hybrid’ model of marketised universalism that uses novel forms of statecraft to socialise risk while advancing competition.

 Rather than explaining how Australia fell prey to neoliberalism, the book identifies an ongoing struggle between competing visions of liberalisation. Dual welfare deepens inequality by concealing the distributional effects of state policy, building a sizeable coalition of largely older voters, insulated from the insecurities of precarious work and benefiting from rising house prices. Hybrid policies, it argues, emerged at the intersection of sympathetic bureaucracies and strong social pressure. Central to both are workers within the welfare state and the unions that represent them. The analysis recasts divides based on generation and education as reflecting the increasingly central role of social reproduction within the paid economy, and the strategies of care workers to have their skills and value recognised. The analysis opens opportunities for new models of solidarity based on an ethic of care.

‘Politics, Media and Campaign Language’ is an original, groundbreaking analysis of the story of Australian identity, told through Australian election campaign language. It argues that the story of Australian identity is characterised by recurring cycles of anxiety and reassurance, which betray a deep underlying feeling of insecurity. Introducing the concept of identity security, it takes electoral language as its focus, and demonstrates that election campaigns provide a valuable window into an overlooked part of Australia’s political and cultural history.

This book reclaims Australian campaign speech and electoral history to tell the story of changing national values and priorities, and traces the contours of our collective conversations about national identity. Rare in Australian politics, this approach is more common in the United States where campaign language is seen as providing a valuable insight into the continuing cultural negotiation of the collective values, priorities and concerns of the national community. In this conception, political leaders have significant influence but must function within and respond to the complex and shifting dynamics of public and media dialogue, and to changing social, political and economic conditions.

In this way, the book uses elections to provide a fresh perspective on both Australian political history and the development of Australian identity, bringing together, for the first time, a wide range of primary sources from across Australian electoral history: campaign speeches, interviews, press conferences and leaders’ debates. The book grounds analysis of campaign communication in a range of textual examples and detailed case studies. These vivid case studies bring the narrative journey to life, drawing on those leaders who have successfully aligned themselves with the nation’s values, priorities and plans for the future. The book also reintroduces readers to the alternative visions of those who were not successful at the ballot box, tracing campaign battles between competing narratives of what it means to be Australian.

‘Politics, Media and Campaign Language’ is an original, groundbreaking analysis of the story of Australian identity, told through Australian election campaign language. It argues that the story of Australian identity is characterised by recurring cycles of anxiety and reassurance, which betray a deep underlying feeling of insecurity. Introducing the concept of identity security, it takes electoral language as its focus, and demonstrates that election campaigns provide a valuable window into an overlooked part of Australia’s political and cultural history.

This book reclaims Australian campaign speech and electoral history to tell the story of changing national values and priorities, and traces the contours of our collective conversations about national identity. Rare in Australian politics, this approach is more common in the United States where campaign language is seen as providing a valuable insight into the continuing cultural negotiation of the collective values, priorities and concerns of the national community. In this conception, political leaders have significant influence but must function within and respond to the complex and shifting dynamics of public and media dialogue, and to changing social, political and economic conditions.

In this way, the book uses elections to provide a fresh perspective on both Australian political history and the development of Australian identity, bringing together, for the first time, a wide range of primary sources from across Australian electoral history: campaign speeches, interviews, press conferences and leaders’ debates. The book grounds analysis of campaign communication in a range of textual examples and detailed case studies. These vivid case studies bring the narrative journey to life, drawing on those leaders who have successfully aligned themselves with the nation’s values, priorities and plans for the future. The book also reintroduces readers to the alternative visions of those who were not successful at the ballot box, tracing campaign battles between competing narratives of what it means to be Australian.

In a time when mass joblessness and precarious employment are becoming issues of national concern, it is useful to reconsider the experiences of the unemployed in an earlier period of economic hardship, the Great Depression. How did they survive, and how did they fight against inhumane government policies? Americans are often thought to be a very conservative and individualistic people, but the collective struggles of the supposedly “meek” and “atomized” unemployed in the 1930s belie that stereotype. 

Focusing on the bellwether city of Chicago, this book reevaluates those struggles, revealing the kernel of political radicalism and class resistance in practices that are usually thought of as apolitical and un-ideological. From communal sharing to “eviction riots,” from Unemployed Councils to the nationwide movement behind the remarkable Workers’ Unemployment Insurance Bill, millions of people fought to end the reign of capitalist values and usher in a new, more socialistic society. While they failed in their maximal goal of abolishing economic insecurity and the disproportionate power of the rich, they did wrest an incipient welfare state from the ruling class. Today, their legacy is their resilience, their resourcefulness, and their proof that the unemployed can organize themselves to renew the struggle for a more just world.

In a time when mass joblessness and precarious employment are becoming issues of national concern, it is useful to reconsider the experiences of the unemployed in an earlier period of economic hardship, the Great Depression. How did they survive, and how did they fight against inhumane government policies? Americans are often thought to be a very conservative and individualistic people, but the collective struggles of the supposedly “meek” and “atomized” unemployed in the 1930s belie that stereotype. 

Focusing on the bellwether city of Chicago, this book reevaluates those struggles, revealing the kernel of political radicalism and class resistance in practices that are usually thought of as apolitical and un-ideological. From communal sharing to “eviction riots,” from Unemployed Councils to the nationwide movement behind the remarkable Workers’ Unemployment Insurance Bill, millions of people fought to end the reign of capitalist values and usher in a new, more socialistic society. While they failed in their maximal goal of abolishing economic insecurity and the disproportionate power of the rich, they did wrest an incipient welfare state from the ruling class. Today, their legacy is their resilience, their resourcefulness, and their proof that the unemployed can organize themselves to renew the struggle for a more just world.

Portuguese and Amsterdam Sephardic Merchants in the Tobacco Trade is a history of the role of Portuguese and Sephardic merchants in the tobacco industry and trade of Amsterdam. It focuses on the contraband trade with Tierra Firme and Hispaniola in the early seventeenth century as documented in the Engel Sluiter Historical Documents Collection. 

The Engel Sluiter Historical Documents Collection is a unique archival collection for the purpose of research on the territorial conflict between the Spanish Habsburg Empire and the Dutch Republic in the context of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648). Sluiter collected documents from archives around the world with a focus on trade and fiscal records which document the rise to commercial prominence of the Dutch Republic, the intricacies of Spanish and Portuguese trade and navigation, and the Contaduria which report revenues and expenditures of the Spanish Crown along with import and export duties. The documents in the collection relate mainly to Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese trade affairs in Europe and Spanish and Portuguese overseas territories but include references to English and French accounts of payments to Spain as well. The majority of the documents are in Spanish, transcribed, translated in English, and provided with notes by Engel Sluiter himself. The Caribbean Collection, including Tierra Firme and Hispaniola, contains documents on Dutch mercantile trade practices – mostly smuggling as Spain and the Dutch Republic were at war with each other – and Spanish trade regulations and efforts to block foreign access to trade goods. We thus learn a great deal about foreigners involved in illegal trade in which capture, corruption and bribery played an important role in particular with respect to the tobacco trade which was highly regulated under Spanish rule. 

Sometimes, when foreign vessels were captured and hauled into port, mariners or merchant smugglers were reported by name and port of origin and voyage details were recorded. We thus gain insight into the specifics of the merchants and their trading networks as well as the goods being smuggled. Concern about tobacco smuggling is referred to in several of the reports and resulted in plans to prohibit tobacco cultivation or allow cultivation with royal permission only. In several instances recommendations were made to undermine smuggling activities in specific coastal regions where tobacco cultivation occurred and where frequent contacts were made between Dutch mariners and merchants and coastal populations including Amerindians, Creoles, runaway Blacks and "Portuguese" present in coastal areas. Spanish documents display a concern about "Portuguese" in coastal areas as they were associated with Conversos, New Christians who often served as go-between in trade and finance in the Spanish Habsburg Empire. The same group was often thought to be in contact with English, French and Dutch smugglers, and the records suggest that Portuguese merchants were engaged in trade with Bayonne, London and Amsterdam through merchant networks that had been expanded and extended throughout the Atlantic world. 

Portuguese and Amsterdam Sephardic Merchants in the Tobacco Trade is a history of the role of Portuguese and Sephardic merchants in the tobacco industry and trade of Amsterdam. It focuses on the contraband trade with Tierra Firme and Hispaniola in the early seventeenth century as documented in the Engel Sluiter Historical Documents Collection. 

The Engel Sluiter Historical Documents Collection is a unique archival collection for the purpose of research on the territorial conflict between the Spanish Habsburg Empire and the Dutch Republic in the context of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648). Sluiter collected documents from archives around the world with a focus on trade and fiscal records which document the rise to commercial prominence of the Dutch Republic, the intricacies of Spanish and Portuguese trade and navigation, and the Contaduria which report revenues and expenditures of the Spanish Crown along with import and export duties. The documents in the collection relate mainly to Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese trade affairs in Europe and Spanish and Portuguese overseas territories but include references to English and French accounts of payments to Spain as well. The majority of the documents are in Spanish, transcribed, translated in English, and provided with notes by Engel Sluiter himself. The Caribbean Collection, including Tierra Firme and Hispaniola, contains documents on Dutch mercantile trade practices – mostly smuggling as Spain and the Dutch Republic were at war with each other – and Spanish trade regulations and efforts to block foreign access to trade goods. We thus learn a great deal about foreigners involved in illegal trade in which capture, corruption and bribery played an important role in particular with respect to the tobacco trade which was highly regulated under Spanish rule. 

Sometimes, when foreign vessels were captured and hauled into port, mariners or merchant smugglers were reported by name and port of origin and voyage details were recorded. We thus gain insight into the specifics of the merchants and their trading networks as well as the goods being smuggled. Concern about tobacco smuggling is referred to in several of the reports and resulted in plans to prohibit tobacco cultivation or allow cultivation with royal permission only. In several instances recommendations were made to undermine smuggling activities in specific coastal regions where tobacco cultivation occurred and where frequent contacts were made between Dutch mariners and merchants and coastal populations including Amerindians, Creoles, runaway Blacks and "Portuguese" present in coastal areas. Spanish documents display a concern about "Portuguese" in coastal areas as they were associated with Conversos, New Christians who often served as go-between in trade and finance in the Spanish Habsburg Empire. The same group was often thought to be in contact with English, French and Dutch smugglers, and the records suggest that Portuguese merchants were engaged in trade with Bayonne, London and Amsterdam through merchant networks that had been expanded and extended throughout the Atlantic world. 

‘Post-Multicultural Writers as Neo-Cosmopolitan Mediators’ argues the need to move beyond the monolingual paradigm within Anglophone literary studies. Using Lyotard’s concept of post as the future anterior (back to the future), this book sets up a concept of post-multiculturalism salvaging the elements within multiculturalism that have been forgotten in its contemporary denigration. Gunew attaches this discussion to debates in neo-cosmopolitanism over the last decade, creating a framework for re-evaluating post-multicultural and Indigenous writers in settler colonies such as Canada and Australia. She links these writers with transnational writers across diasporas from Eastern Europe, South-East Asia, China and India to construct a new framework for literary and cultural studies.

This book provides an overview of concepts in the field of literary and cultural neo-cosmopolitanism, demonstrating their usefulness in re-interpreting notions of the spatial and the temporal to create a new cultural politics and ethics that speak to our challenging times. The neo-cosmopolitan debates have shown how we are more connected than ever and how groups and geo-political areas that were overlooked in the past need to be brought to the center of our cultural criticism so that we can engage more ethically and sustainably with global cultures and languages at risk. In her wide-ranging study of world writers, Gunew juxtaposes Christos Tsiolkas, Brian Castro and Kim Scott from Australia with Canadian writers such as Shani Mootoo, Anita Rau Badami and Tomson Highway, connecting them to other Europeans such as Dubravka Ugresic and Herta Müller. [NP] This book analyses diaspora texts within neo-imperial globalization where global English often functions as metonym for Western values. By introducing the acoustic ‘noise’ of multilingualism (accents within writing) in relation to the constitutive instability within monolingual English studies, Gunew shows that within global English diverse forms of ‘englishes’ provide routes to more robust recognition of the significance of other languages that create pluralized perspectives on our social relations in the world.

‘Post-Multicultural Writers as Neo-Cosmopolitan Mediators’ argues the need to move beyond the monolingual paradigm within Anglophone literary studies. Using Lyotard’s concept of post as the future anterior (back to the future), this book sets up a concept of post-multiculturalism salvaging the elements within multiculturalism that have been forgotten in its contemporary denigration. Gunew attaches this discussion to debates in neo-cosmopolitanism over the last decade, creating a framework for re-evaluating post-multicultural and Indigenous writers in settler colonies such as Canada and Australia. She links these writers with transnational writers across diasporas from Eastern Europe, South-East Asia, China and India to construct a new framework for literary and cultural studies.

This book provides an overview of concepts in the field of literary and cultural neo-cosmopolitanism, demonstrating their usefulness in re-interpreting notions of the spatial and the temporal to create a new cultural politics and ethics that speak to our challenging times. The neo-cosmopolitan debates have shown how we are more connected than ever and how groups and geo-political areas that were overlooked in the past need to be brought to the center of our cultural criticism so that we can engage more ethically and sustainably with global cultures and languages at risk. In her wide-ranging study of world writers, Gunew juxtaposes Christos Tsiolkas, Brian Castro and Kim Scott from Australia with Canadian writers such as Shani Mootoo, Anita Rau Badami and Tomson Highway, connecting them to other Europeans such as Dubravka Ugresic and Herta Müller. [NP] This book analyses diaspora texts within neo-imperial globalization where global English often functions as metonym for Western values. By introducing the acoustic ‘noise’ of multilingualism (accents within writing) in relation to the constitutive instability within monolingual English studies, Gunew shows that within global English diverse forms of ‘englishes’ provide routes to more robust recognition of the significance of other languages that create pluralized perspectives on our social relations in the world.

‘Post-Truth’ was Oxford Dictionary’s 2016 word of the year. While the term was coined by its disparagers, especially in light of the Brexit and US Presidential campaigns, the roots of post-truth lie deep in the history of Western social and political theory. This book reaches back to Plato, ranges across theology and philosophy, and focuses on the Machiavellian tradition in classical sociology. The key figure here is Vilfredo Pareto, who offered the original modern account of post-truth in terms of the ‘circulation of elites’, whereby ‘lions’ and ‘foxes’ vie for power by accusing each other of illegitimacy, based on allegations of speaking falsely either about what they have done (lions) or what they will do (foxes). The defining feature of ‘post-truth’ is a strong distinction between appearance and reality which is never quite resolved, which means that the strongest appearance ends up passing for reality. The only question is whether more is gained by rapid changes in appearance (foxes) or by stabilizing one such appearance (lions). This book plays out what all this means for both politics and science.

Post-truth should be seen as largely a continuation of the last forty years of postmodernism, especially in its deconstructive guise. Both postmodernism and post-truth publicly display a strong anti-authoritarian, democratic streak. Yet it is also a legacy rooted in Plato, who acknowledged an eternal power struggle – done in the name of ‘truth’ – between those who uphold adherence to the past and those who uphold openness to the future. Later, Machiavelli, and still later Vilfredo Pareto, described these two positions as ‘lions’ and ‘foxes’, respectively. Moreover, there has always been concern that if the struggle between the lions and foxes is made public, the social fabric will disintegrate altogether, as happened to Athens in Plato’s day. The ancient and medieval support for a ‘double truth’ doctrine (i.e. one for the elites and one for the masses), as carried over in modern conceptions of censorship, articulate these misgivings. In early twentieth century, Pareto based a general theory of society on this struggle. Pareto’s legacy left the most lasting impression in the US through the Harvard biochemist Lawrence Henderson. Henderson convened a ‘Pareto Circle’ in the late 1930s, which influenced the young Thomas Kuhn, author of the most influential account of science in the second half of the twentieth century, ‘The Structure of Scientific Revolutions’. What distinguishes science from politics is that in science the lions normally rule because they suppress contested features of their history until their own internal disagreements about how to interpret puzzling findings force a ‘crisis’ and finally ‘revolution’, during which the scientific foxes are briefly in control.

The book is concerned with the implications of a systematically post-truth perspective on academic knowledge production, which is largely seen as a vulnerable target. It turns out that military and industrial attitudes towards knowledge production have always embodied a post-truth perspective. The book also suggests an academic course of study for a post-truth world. The course would put less emphasis on content and more on skills, especially those involving the propagation and deconstruction of content, much of which is normally associated with marketing, public relations as well as aesthetic and literary criticism. In addition, the course would focus on arguments relating to the avoidance (lions) or acceptance (foxes) of risk. It would also examine the contrasting Orwellian practices involved in constructing canonical (lions) and revisionist (foxes) histories. The twentieth century interwar debate between Walter Lippmann (lion) and Edward Bernays (fox) over the meaning of a public philosophy in an era of mass media would be a centrepiece.

‘Post-Truth’ was Oxford Dictionary’s 2016 word of the year. While the term was coined by its disparagers, especially in light of the Brexit and US Presidential campaigns, the roots of post-truth lie deep in the history of Western social and political theory. This book reaches back to Plato, ranges across theology and philosophy, and focuses on the Machiavellian tradition in classical sociology. The key figure here is Vilfredo Pareto, who offered the original modern account of post-truth in terms of the ‘circulation of elites’, whereby ‘lions’ and ‘foxes’ vie for power by accusing each other of illegitimacy, based on allegations of speaking falsely either about what they have done (lions) or what they will do (foxes). The defining feature of ‘post-truth’ is a strong distinction between appearance and reality which is never quite resolved, which means that the strongest appearance ends up passing for reality. The only question is whether more is gained by rapid changes in appearance (foxes) or by stabilizing one such appearance (lions). This book plays out what all this means for both politics and science.

Post-truth should be seen as largely a continuation of the last forty years of postmodernism, especially in its deconstructive guise. Both postmodernism and post-truth publicly display a strong anti-authoritarian, democratic streak. Yet it is also a legacy rooted in Plato, who acknowledged an eternal power struggle – done in the name of ‘truth’ – between those who uphold adherence to the past and those who uphold openness to the future. Later, Machiavelli, and still later Vilfredo Pareto, described these two positions as ‘lions’ and ‘foxes’, respectively. Moreover, there has always been concern that if the struggle between the lions and foxes is made public, the social fabric will disintegrate altogether, as happened to Athens in Plato’s day. The ancient and medieval support for a ‘double truth’ doctrine (i.e. one for the elites and one for the masses), as carried over in modern conceptions of censorship, articulate these misgivings. In early twentieth century, Pareto based a general theory of society on this struggle. Pareto’s legacy left the most lasting impression in the US through the Harvard biochemist Lawrence Henderson. Henderson convened a ‘Pareto Circle’ in the late 1930s, which influenced the young Thomas Kuhn, author of the most influential account of science in the second half of the twentieth century, ‘The Structure of Scientific Revolutions’. What distinguishes science from politics is that in science the lions normally rule because they suppress contested features of their history until their own internal disagreements about how to interpret puzzling findings force a ‘crisis’ and finally ‘revolution’, during which the scientific foxes are briefly in control.

The book is concerned with the implications of a systematically post-truth perspective on academic knowledge production, which is largely seen as a vulnerable target. It turns out that military and industrial attitudes towards knowledge production have always embodied a post-truth perspective. The book also suggests an academic course of study for a post-truth world. The course would put less emphasis on content and more on skills, especially those involving the propagation and deconstruction of content, much of which is normally associated with marketing, public relations as well as aesthetic and literary criticism. In addition, the course would focus on arguments relating to the avoidance (lions) or acceptance (foxes) of risk. It would also examine the contrasting Orwellian practices involved in constructing canonical (lions) and revisionist (foxes) histories. The twentieth century interwar debate between Walter Lippmann (lion) and Edward Bernays (fox) over the meaning of a public philosophy in an era of mass media would be a centrepiece.

Previously unexploited postal data provides a good proxy for economic activity in the nineteenth-century United States, disaggregated down the area served by each post office for each two-year period. Compensation paid to every employee of the United States Government, including postmasters, was published for each two-year period from 1816 in the Official Register, of which only a few complete sets survive. Postmasters were compensated according to the volume of business at their post office, in an era where mail was the principal means of communication and postal money orders played a crucial role in the payments systems. Because the formula according to which postmasters were compensated changed repeatedly, earlier historians were unable to go from the compensation of postmasters to the revenues of their post offices. We have been able to determine what the compensation formula at each time and so can back out the volume of business in each post office in each period from the compensation paid to the postmaster. This provides us with a proxy for economic activity that is much more disaggregated in space and time than previously available estimates.
We use this measure of economic activity to study economic fluctuations by region and to investigate how regions differed in their sensitivity to national business cycles in the nineteenth-century United States. The data also make it possible to follow, at a finer level of disaggregation than was previously attainable, the effect of the expanding railway network on economic activity. We use data on postal money orders to explore the flow of funds between states as well as between states and foreign countries.
We use data on postmasters and their compensation to illuminate issues of social mobility and status, with particular attention to female and African American postmasters and to the transmission of postmaster positions within families. This book draws the attention of historians to a previously neglected treasure trove of quantitative information on the economy and society of the nineteenth-century United States.

Indian novels in English have generated a considerable amount of interest both in India and in English-speaking countries, particularly during India’s postliberalization period since 1991. For India, this period has seen unparalleled consumption of global goods and exposure to international media, and has resulted in Indian writers writing in English (including writers of Indian origin) catching the attention of the Western world like never before.

“Postliberalization Indian Novels in English: Politics of Global Reception and Awards” focuses on Indian writers writing in the English language, whose concerns are related to India in her immediacy, and who have come into literary prominence in the postliberalization period. Such writers have broached issues including nationalism, diaspora, identity, communalism, subaltern representation, modernism and the impact of globalization. Although the idea of this study is not to undermine the value of their novels, its aim is to consider the correlation of their novels’ themes with the workings of the organized, global market processes now present in postliberalized India.

As such, some large questions arise: What are the cultural and critical frameworks that define literary reception? Has there been a marked shift in the reception of Indian novelists writing in English postliberalization? To what extent are the works of these writers driven by the dictates of the market, and does a commercially/economically driven media influence critical/commercial perceptions? And are there certain thematic concerns and representations which are deemed “prize and attention worthy,” and do these factors influence the critical/commercial reception of the novels?

In investigating these questions, this critical handbook reveals the forces shaping the modern Indian novel in the postliberalization period, and provides a systematic approach to the study of Indian novelists in terms of their global reception. 

Indian novels in English have generated a considerable amount of interest both in India and in English-speaking countries, particularly during India’s postliberalization period since 1991. For India, this period has seen unparalleled consumption of global goods and exposure to international media, and has resulted in Indian writers writing in English (including writers of Indian origin) catching the attention of the Western world like never before.

“Postliberalization Indian Novels in English: Politics of Global Reception and Awards” focuses on Indian writers writing in the English language, whose concerns are related to India in her immediacy, and who have come into literary prominence in the postliberalization period. Such writers have broached issues including nationalism, diaspora, identity, communalism, subaltern representation, modernism and the impact of globalization. Although the idea of this study is not to undermine the value of their novels, its aim is to consider the correlation of their novels’ themes with the workings of the organized, global market processes now present in postliberalized India.

As such, some large questions arise: What are the cultural and critical frameworks that define literary reception? Has there been a marked shift in the reception of Indian novelists writing in English postliberalization? To what extent are the works of these writers driven by the dictates of the market, and does a commercially/economically driven media influence critical/commercial perceptions? And are there certain thematic concerns and representations which are deemed “prize and attention worthy,” and do these factors influence the critical/commercial reception of the novels?

In investigating these questions, this critical handbook reveals the forces shaping the modern Indian novel in the postliberalization period, and provides a systematic approach to the study of Indian novelists in terms of their global reception. 

Richard Washburn Child was an American author and diplomat who served as the U.S. ambassador to Italy between 1921 and 1924 during the rise of fascism in that country. Earlier, however, Child visited Russia on the eve of the revolution and was greatly impressed with what he saw. He praised the Russians for their spirit and independence. He optimistically believed that Russia was a dormant force ready to liberate itself from its feudal past and spring forward into modernity. He describes Russia’s resources, both natural and human, and attempts to explain the Russian mindset.
Child acknowledged rumours of a stirring revolutionary mood, but he did not believe they were accurate. Reading his observations, given what we know would soon happen, is both fascinating and poignant. Child would later go on to be a huge supporter of Mussolini and editor of the dictator’s autobiography.
Child urged the United States to establish partnerships with Russia and create opportunities with this powerful nation before other countries beat them to it. He believed that Great Britain was already taking steps to invest in Russia. Child also emphasised the importance of sending representatives to Russia who actually understood the customs and spoke the language.

Richard Washburn Child was an American author and diplomat who served as the U.S. ambassador to Italy between 1921 and 1924 during the rise of fascism in that country. Earlier, however, Child visited Russia on the eve of the revolution and was greatly impressed with what he saw. He praised the Russians for their spirit and independence. He optimistically believed that Russia was a dormant force ready to liberate itself from its feudal past and spring forward into modernity. He describes Russia’s resources, both natural and human, and attempts to explain the Russian mindset.
Child acknowledged rumours of a stirring revolutionary mood, but he did not believe they were accurate. Reading his observations, given what we know would soon happen, is both fascinating and poignant. Child would later go on to be a huge supporter of Mussolini and editor of the dictator’s autobiography.
Child urged the United States to establish partnerships with Russia and create opportunities with this powerful nation before other countries beat them to it. He believed that Great Britain was already taking steps to invest in Russia. Child also emphasised the importance of sending representatives to Russia who actually understood the customs and spoke the language.

While Asia's growth record in recent decades is remarkable, it has been marred by rising inequality. Recognizing the potential negative economic, social and political consequences of rising inequality, more and more Asian countries are paying attention to the issue of equity and taking actions to make growth more inclusive. This book puts together papers arising from various studies on inclusive growth and its policy implications, as carried out at the Asian Development Bank. 'Poverty, Inequality, and Inclusive Growth in Asia' looks at recent trends of income and non-income inequalities in developing Asian countries; discusses their underlying driving forces; examines the concept of inclusive growth and its policy ingredients; proposes how inclusive growth can be measured and monitored; and provides in-depth analyses of the key policies of an inclusive growth strategy, including employment, public service delivery, social protection, gender equality, and governance and institutions. The book also presents a set of country studies with rich information on growth, poverty and inequality dynamics and the policy challenges that arise in marching toward inclusive growth in the People's Republic of China, Philippines, and Nepal.

While Asia's growth record in recent decades is remarkable, it has been marred by rising inequality. Recognizing the potential negative economic, social and political consequences of rising inequality, more and more Asian countries are paying attention to the issue of equity and taking actions to make growth more inclusive. This book puts together papers arising from various studies on inclusive growth and its policy implications, as carried out at the Asian Development Bank. 'Poverty, Inequality, and Inclusive Growth in Asia' looks at recent trends of income and non-income inequalities in developing Asian countries; discusses their underlying driving forces; examines the concept of inclusive growth and its policy ingredients; proposes how inclusive growth can be measured and monitored; and provides in-depth analyses of the key policies of an inclusive growth strategy, including employment, public service delivery, social protection, gender equality, and governance and institutions. The book also presents a set of country studies with rich information on growth, poverty and inequality dynamics and the policy challenges that arise in marching toward inclusive growth in the People's Republic of China, Philippines, and Nepal.

Animated by theoretical eclecticism and methodological diversity, ‘Power Shifts and Global Governance: Challenges from South and North’ presents a 'post-national' political project for analyzing emerging architectures of global governance and examining country and regional case studies from the perspective of  'great power shifts' in the twenty-first century. Using theoretical insights from neo-Kantians and neo-institutionalists, the book explores the contested meanings and practices of globalization and polycentric governance in the context of emerging powers such as China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa, and examines the implications of shifts in the foreign and domestic policies of the new powers in the world. The book not only reflects on the fundamental erosion of an international order in which Western societies enjoyed a relatively uncomplicated consensus on their political, economic and ideological eminence, but also debates the nature of emerging 'radically incomplete' global interdependencies among nations.

Challenging the hegemony of dominant paradigms in conventional International Relations theories and blurring the traditional distinctions between South and North, the book seeks a new 'New Deal' to address issues of poverty, climate change and human security at the global level. Written in clear, lucid language, the book is a serious attempt to deepen newer ways of international cooperation as it re-imagines the future of cosmopolitan democracy and global civil society.

Animated by theoretical eclecticism and methodological diversity, ‘Power Shifts and Global Governance: Challenges from South and North’ presents a 'post-national' political project for analyzing emerging architectures of global governance and examining country and regional case studies from the perspective of  'great power shifts' in the twenty-first century. Using theoretical insights from neo-Kantians and neo-institutionalists, the book explores the contested meanings and practices of globalization and polycentric governance in the context of emerging powers such as China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa, and examines the implications of shifts in the foreign and domestic policies of the new powers in the world. The book not only reflects on the fundamental erosion of an international order in which Western societies enjoyed a relatively uncomplicated consensus on their political, economic and ideological eminence, but also debates the nature of emerging 'radically incomplete' global interdependencies among nations.

Challenging the hegemony of dominant paradigms in conventional International Relations theories and blurring the traditional distinctions between South and North, the book seeks a new 'New Deal' to address issues of poverty, climate change and human security at the global level. Written in clear, lucid language, the book is a serious attempt to deepen newer ways of international cooperation as it re-imagines the future of cosmopolitan democracy and global civil society.

The proposed volume covers Christopher Winch’s work over a period of 37 years and illustrates four interconnected themes that have informed his thinking over that period. Writing from a Wittgensteinian perspective, Winch is primarily interested in applying Wittgenstein’s general approach to philosophising to educational problems and puzzles of a variety of different kinds. Throughout the collection there is an emphasis on the complexity and subtlety of many of the philosophical problems associated with education, the importance of appreciating differences and the contestability of many educational judgements. Thus the volume starts with a section on rationality and argument and a discussion of some of the perplexities about the nature of literacy and whether it represents a cognitive ‘leap forward’ for the human race or whether it is more of an enabling technology. It is followed, in a reply to David Cooper, by an article that emphasises the importance of charitable interpretation in understanding reasoning and looks at some of the difficulties involved in understanding reasoning in informal contexts.

Winch’s interest in rule-following and concept formation is the theme of the next few articles. Winch has long been interested in philosophical aspects of professional action and judgement. The third section of this book focuses on that preoccupation. Gilbert Ryle’s ideas as well as Wittgenstein’s have been a significant influence on this. This section closes with a discussion of the sense we can make of the claim that theoretical knowledge can inform agency in professional contexts. The fourth section gathers together seven papers on learning and training that Winch has published over the last 25 years. The overarching theme of this section is the highly variegated nature of the phenomena of learning and the difficulty of constructing a ‘grand theory’ of learning. 

The proposed volume covers Christopher Winch’s work over a period of 37 years and illustrates four interconnected themes that have informed his thinking over that period. Writing from a Wittgensteinian perspective, Winch is primarily interested in applying Wittgenstein’s general approach to philosophising to educational problems and puzzles of a variety of different kinds. Throughout the collection there is an emphasis on the complexity and subtlety of many of the philosophical problems associated with education, the importance of appreciating differences and the contestability of many educational judgements. Thus the volume starts with a section on rationality and argument and a discussion of some of the perplexities about the nature of literacy and whether it represents a cognitive ‘leap forward’ for the human race or whether it is more of an enabling technology. It is followed, in a reply to David Cooper, by an article that emphasises the importance of charitable interpretation in understanding reasoning and looks at some of the difficulties involved in understanding reasoning in informal contexts.

Winch’s interest in rule-following and concept formation is the theme of the next few articles. Winch has long been interested in philosophical aspects of professional action and judgement. The third section of this book focuses on that preoccupation. Gilbert Ryle’s ideas as well as Wittgenstein’s have been a significant influence on this. This section closes with a discussion of the sense we can make of the claim that theoretical knowledge can inform agency in professional contexts. The fourth section gathers together seven papers on learning and training that Winch has published over the last 25 years. The overarching theme of this section is the highly variegated nature of the phenomena of learning and the difficulty of constructing a ‘grand theory’ of learning. 

To show the non-linear nature of social evolution, it is crucially important to discuss cases from different cultural areas and different historical periods, including our time, as well as different levels of overall sociocultural complexity. This anthology includes chapters that explore case studies covering a wide range of societies of the Old and the New World ranging from ancient to modern contexts. Respectively, the chapters are based on different kinds of sources – archaeological, historical, anthropological (ethnographic), and sociological. This analysis of pre-modern and modern societies sheds valuable light on the variety of ways in which social institutions were developing through time and space and of how these institutions may have fostered social evolution. Therefore, this publication may enhance our understanding of social evolution at the world-system, regional, and local-culture levels via the integration of various kinds of evidence within a unified conceptual framework.
Societies are systems composed of a great number of various social institutions. Societies change as a result of emergence, transformation, and interaction of institutions. As systems of social institutions, societies have a fundamental characteristic that can be called a “basic principle of societal organization.” The principle of organization a society embodies depends on the way its institutions are arranged with respect to one another. Two basic principles can be distinguished: heterarchical, at which institutions interact being unranked with respect to one another or can be ranked in different ways, and the opposite principle, homoarchical, at which institutions interact being rigidly ranked in the only way and have no or very limited potential for being unranked or ranked in other ways. Societies of the same level of overall cultural complexity and with the same basic principle of organization can take different specific forms, as alternativeness exists not only between but also within the heterarchical and homoarchical macrogroups of societies. The division of societies into predominantly heterarchical and homoarchical is a constant fact of human sociocultural history. The dichotomy of heterarchy and homoarchy has considerably determined the non-linear and alternative nature of the global sociocultural process.
Transformations in the ways social institutions and their sets, societal subsystems, are ranked (homoarchically or heterarchically) on one hand and changes in the overall sociocultural complexity on the other are two different, largely unrelated processes. Homoarchy and heterarchy are not evolutionary lines: a society can pass from a predominantly heterarchical way of ranking institutions to predominantly homoarchical or vice versa, and can do it both with and without a change in level of complexity. At any level of overall cultural complexity, one can observe both heterarchical and homoarchical societies, because an equal level of complexity (which makes it possible to solve equally difficult problems societies face) can be achieved in various forms on essentially different (though intersecting in the history of many societies and regions) principles of societal organization.

Many of the textbooks available for undergraduate and sub-degree students beginning to learn the concepts and practice of global supply chains are either too technical or too theoretical in nature. To fill this gap, ‘Managing Global Supply Chains’ includes chapters that cover traditional and contemporary topics (reverse logistics, logistics associations, logistics education, sustainability in supply chain management, operations in global supply chains and financial management). Globalization, advanced technology, organizational consolidation, the empowered consumer and government policy have contributed to the timeliness of the book.

The key topics of each chapter demonstrate a variety of fundamental issues in the supply chain industry: What are supply chain markets? What is the supply chain cost structure? What are supply chain strategies? How do supply chain firms design and implement strategies? What are the key roles of logistics service providers, logistics education operators and logistics associations? How should supply chain operations be managed? How is a sustainable and innovative supply chain structure created? Comparative practical case studies from Asia, North America and Latin America lend weight to the chapters.

’Private Equity’ is an advanced applied corporate finance book with a mixture of chapters devoted to exploring a range of topics from a private equity investor’s perspective. The goal is to understand why and which practices are likely to deliver sustained profitability in the future. The book is a collection of cases based on actual investment decisions at different stages for process tackled by experienced industry professionals. The majority of the chapters deal with growth equity and buyout investments. However, a range of size targets and investments in different geographical markets are covered as well. These markets include several developed economies and emerging markets like China, Russia, Turkey, Egypt and Argentina. This compilation of cases is rich in institutional details, information about different markets, and segments of the industry as well as different players and their investment practices – it is a unique insight into the key alternative asset class.

The book provides a comprehensive descriptive history of the founding of the Saltire Society in 1936, a Scottish cultural organization dedicated to promoting ‘all that’s best in Scottish culture’, and its series of literary awards which now includes prizes for fiction, first books, history books, non-fiction, poetry and research books. The book accomplishes this by including a detailed descriptive history of the founding of the Saltire Society and its literary awards and original analyses of the impact the award has made within the UK’s literary economy and publishing culture, forming a unique perspective of research in practice enabled by access to archives, interviews and observations that are unique.

This cultural history of the Saltire Society Literary Awards demonstrates the significance the awards have had within Scottish literary and cultural life. It is one piece of the wider cultural award puzzle and illustrates how, far from being parochial or niche, lesser-known awards, whose histories may be yet untold, play their own role in the circulation of cultural value through the consecration of literary value. The study of the Society’s Book of the Year and First Book of the Year Awards not only highlights how important connections between literary awards and national culture and identity are within prize culture and how literary awards, and their founding institutions, can be products of the socio-political and cultural milieu in which they form,; but this study also illustrates how existing literary award scholarship has only begun to scratch the surface of the complexities of the phenomenon. This book promotes a new approach to considering literary prizes, proposing that the concept of the literary awards hierarchy can contribute to emerging and developing discourses pertaining to literary, and indeed cultural, prizes more broadly.

The book provides a comprehensive descriptive history of the founding of the Saltire Society in 1936, a Scottish cultural organization dedicated to promoting ‘all that’s best in Scottish culture’, and its series of literary awards which now includes prizes for fiction, first books, history books, non-fiction, poetry and research books. The book accomplishes this by including a detailed descriptive history of the founding of the Saltire Society and its literary awards and original analyses of the impact the award has made within the UK’s literary economy and publishing culture, forming a unique perspective of research in practice enabled by access to archives, interviews and observations that are unique.

This cultural history of the Saltire Society Literary Awards demonstrates the significance the awards have had within Scottish literary and cultural life. It is one piece of the wider cultural award puzzle and illustrates how, far from being parochial or niche, lesser-known awards, whose histories may be yet untold, play their own role in the circulation of cultural value through the consecration of literary value. The study of the Society’s Book of the Year and First Book of the Year Awards not only highlights how important connections between literary awards and national culture and identity are within prize culture and how literary awards, and their founding institutions, can be products of the socio-political and cultural milieu in which they form,; but this study also illustrates how existing literary award scholarship has only begun to scratch the surface of the complexities of the phenomenon. This book promotes a new approach to considering literary prizes, proposing that the concept of the literary awards hierarchy can contribute to emerging and developing discourses pertaining to literary, and indeed cultural, prizes more broadly.

Bringing together the ideas of many philosophers, among others Hegel, Kierkegaard, Bergson, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Deleuze and Derrida, the book aims to give a coherent synthesis of ideas about change and aims to see how one can take a process view of various features of humanity, such as knowledge, relations between people, language and morality, and how, vice versa, that might contribute to process philosophy. Beginning with evolution and moving on to consider knowledge in its dynamic aspect of learning, the book takes a process view of the individual and society.

Generalised Darwinism is discussed not only in terms of biology but also in economics, organisation, language and science in terms of interactors and replicators. The key processes of variety generation, selection and transmission are fundamentally different from those in biology. Therefore, a theory of knowledge and its change is presented that in some ways is similar to evolution but also different in important ways. This theory discusses neural Darwinism. It proposes how discovery might work, in a cycle of discovery, in an interchange of stability and change, and how differences in cognition work in the combination of different sources (cognitive distance). This theory is applied to knowledge, organisations and science. The discussion explains and applies the notions of entropy and organisational focus. Recognising that absolute, objective truth is problematic, it discusses the notion of warranted assertion. The notions of sense and reference are discussed in an explanation of meaning, and the notions of order and variety in terms of langue and parole, and the role of parole in poetry. The change of meaning is further developed in terms of the hermeneutic circle to deal with order and change of meaning. It uses the notion of a script and the hypothesis of an object bias.

Ethics and morality are explored by how the individual constructs their identity and develops in their tension between authenticity and conformity in society. Aristotle’s multiple causality of action is employed to discuss power and sources of dependence and ways to deal with them. Networks as a source of identity and the decentralisation of governance to communities are discussed along with the notion of restorative justice. The concluding chapter considers the historical development and the different forms of ethics and morality, in relation to institutions, and how in evolution an instinct for benevolence has developed and is related to the intrinsic next to extrinsic value of relationships.

Bringing together the ideas of many philosophers, among others Hegel, Kierkegaard, Bergson, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Deleuze and Derrida, the book aims to give a coherent synthesis of ideas about change and aims to see how one can take a process view of various features of humanity, such as knowledge, relations between people, language and morality, and how, vice versa, that might contribute to process philosophy. Beginning with evolution and moving on to consider knowledge in its dynamic aspect of learning, the book takes a process view of the individual and society.

Generalised Darwinism is discussed not only in terms of biology but also in economics, organisation, language and science in terms of interactors and replicators. The key processes of variety generation, selection and transmission are fundamentally different from those in biology. Therefore, a theory of knowledge and its change is presented that in some ways is similar to evolution but also different in important ways. This theory discusses neural Darwinism. It proposes how discovery might work, in a cycle of discovery, in an interchange of stability and change, and how differences in cognition work in the combination of different sources (cognitive distance). This theory is applied to knowledge, organisations and science. The discussion explains and applies the notions of entropy and organisational focus. Recognising that absolute, objective truth is problematic, it discusses the notion of warranted assertion. The notions of sense and reference are discussed in an explanation of meaning, and the notions of order and variety in terms of langue and parole, and the role of parole in poetry. The change of meaning is further developed in terms of the hermeneutic circle to deal with order and change of meaning. It uses the notion of a script and the hypothesis of an object bias.

Ethics and morality are explored by how the individual constructs their identity and develops in their tension between authenticity and conformity in society. Aristotle’s multiple causality of action is employed to discuss power and sources of dependence and ways to deal with them. Networks as a source of identity and the decentralisation of governance to communities are discussed along with the notion of restorative justice. The concluding chapter considers the historical development and the different forms of ethics and morality, in relation to institutions, and how in evolution an instinct for benevolence has developed and is related to the intrinsic next to extrinsic value of relationships.

Procreation, the forgotten basis of population dynamics, and its macrohistorical results, are at the center of this book seen through the lenses of world-system analysis in a nondogmatic way that includes the work started by Jack Goldstone on agrarian-bureaucratic states and their population cycles between 1250 and 1850. Procreation and Population presents population theories, especially those that give a proper place to the demand for labour, generally not considered by professional demographers. Criticizing the intellectual division of labour that separates demography from the unique historical social science that world-systems analysis is building up, the book shows that the commonplaces of the demographic discipline are just a self-celebratory view of Western industrial society.

Attentive to gender relations, the book brings importance to the very base of history (“the weight of number”, in the words of Fernand Braudel) and boldly tracks “the big picture” of population dynamics in times of postmodernist taboos on generalizations and on the search for the historical laws of human society. Complete with data, estimates and sources about the current population trends, this interdisciplinary effort sheds light on the historical paths leading to the current unprecedented numbers of humans on the globe: the forecasted and impossible perennial population growth would be just what capitalism needed to perpetuate its D-M-D spiral.

Prometheus and Gaia examines the ideological currents known as Futurism and Eco-Pessimism. While these tendencies are rarely spoken about explicitly, especially in mainstream discourse, they do have strong (if subterranean) influences on today’s popular politics. In light of the existential threats posed by climate change, nuclear proliferation, disruptive technologies (especially bioengineering and AI) and looming economic crises, many have grown weary of the “small fixes” offered by conventional politicians. Worsening climate change, to take one example, appears to be a problem that “reducing, reusing, and recycling,” or non-binding treaties, are inadequate to remedy. Likewise, perennial economic crises seem too large and too systemic a threat compared to the moderate “fixes” of quantitative easing and government bailouts. If the system, itself, is the problem, then some radical change appears necessary. 

Here, two styles of thought emerge to challenge the status quo: The Futurist sees in existential threats just so many symptoms of a disconnect. This is the widening chasm between a dynamic and ever-accelerating technology, on the one hand, and an all-too static conception of human nature and human society, on the other. Their solution is to fully embrace the disruptive and anarchic powers of technology, and to leave the human as we know it behind, as nothing more than a parochial relic. The Eco-Pessimist instead sees technological development as the problem. The need to dominate nature, and our spoiling the planet, is the proximate cause of our contemporary crises. Their solution is to chastise human consumption, egoism and instrumental reason as destructive of a holistic, planetary balance.

What these two ideologies have in common is a strident anti-humanism. Each, in their own way, subordinates human welfare and reason to some alien “other.” This common anti-humanism is, in some respects, more important than the specific “other” that they designate—whether this be an anarchic nature or a dynamic technology. In both cases, what stands above humanity is valorized as an object of adoration rather than true understanding or comprehension. This need for radical transcendence beyond the human masquerades as a new form of politics; in fact it is a pre-modern and counter-Enlightenment tendency. Prometheus and Gaia seeks to uncover and demystify this strange coincidence of opposites, and goes on to make the positive case for a humanistic rationalism.

Prometheus and Gaia examines the ideological currents known as Futurism and Eco-Pessimism. While these tendencies are rarely spoken about explicitly, especially in mainstream discourse, they do have strong (if subterranean) influences on today’s popular politics. In light of the existential threats posed by climate change, nuclear proliferation, disruptive technologies (especially bioengineering and AI) and looming economic crises, many have grown weary of the “small fixes” offered by conventional politicians. Worsening climate change, to take one example, appears to be a problem that “reducing, reusing, and recycling,” or non-binding treaties, are inadequate to remedy. Likewise, perennial economic crises seem too large and too systemic a threat compared to the moderate “fixes” of quantitative easing and government bailouts. If the system, itself, is the problem, then some radical change appears necessary. 

Here, two styles of thought emerge to challenge the status quo: The Futurist sees in existential threats just so many symptoms of a disconnect. This is the widening chasm between a dynamic and ever-accelerating technology, on the one hand, and an all-too static conception of human nature and human society, on the other. Their solution is to fully embrace the disruptive and anarchic powers of technology, and to leave the human as we know it behind, as nothing more than a parochial relic. The Eco-Pessimist instead sees technological development as the problem. The need to dominate nature, and our spoiling the planet, is the proximate cause of our contemporary crises. Their solution is to chastise human consumption, egoism and instrumental reason as destructive of a holistic, planetary balance.

What these two ideologies have in common is a strident anti-humanism. Each, in their own way, subordinates human welfare and reason to some alien “other.” This common anti-humanism is, in some respects, more important than the specific “other” that they designate—whether this be an anarchic nature or a dynamic technology. In both cases, what stands above humanity is valorized as an object of adoration rather than true understanding or comprehension. This need for radical transcendence beyond the human masquerades as a new form of politics; in fact it is a pre-modern and counter-Enlightenment tendency. Prometheus and Gaia seeks to uncover and demystify this strange coincidence of opposites, and goes on to make the positive case for a humanistic rationalism.

This book is about an idea that has a long and distinguished pedigree, the idea of a right to a basic income. This means having a modest income guaranteed – a right without conditions, just as every citizen should have the right to clean water, fresh air and a good education. In modern societies the conditions for moving in this direction would seem to be falling into place. Yet in the era of globalization and flexible labour relations, inequalities and insecurities can be expected to remain pervasive. The early years of the 21st century have seen the supremacy of politicians who have preached a very paternalistic alternative vision. The past decade has been one of increased state intervention in social policy; it has been the period of the erosion of industrial citizenship rights whose immediate effect has been a terrible increase in social and economic insecurity.

The case for and against the right to basic income security is considered in this book. It argues that there should be a guaranteed basic income as a citizenship right, paid to each individual, regardless of marital status, work status, age or sex. Some chapters argue that existing selective schemes for income protection are ineffectual, costly and misleading; other chapters present alternative rationales and philosophical justifications for moving towards a new form of universalism based on citizenship economic rights. 'Promoting Income Security as a Right', whose contributors include many distinguished economists, philosophers and other social scientists from across Europe and the USA, will appeal to academics and policymakers alike.

‘Psychoanalytic Mythologies’ presents a collection of essays on the theme of what it is to be a human subject in a culture permeated by psychoanalytic imagery. The author disturbs the strongly-held belief of those in thrall to psychoanalysis that it is universally true, and this thesis forms the recurrent motif that binds these essays together. Instead he argues that psychoanalysis functions as something that is only ever locally true. These arguments are elaborated upon in a range of contexts, from night clubs, garages and trains to theme parks, magic circles and yoga, and the different strands are distilled into a cohesive thesis in the definitive final essay ‘Psychoanalytic Myth Today’.

The essays presented here were initially published in scattered newsletters and journals, and were written intermittently in a period stretching back over ten years. Ian Parker has written widely in this area, and these lively and innovative essays taken together form a searing manifesto against the accepted dogmas of psychoanalysis.

‘Psychoanalytic Mythologies’ presents a collection of essays on the theme of what it is to be a human subject in a culture permeated by psychoanalytic imagery. The author disturbs the strongly-held belief of those in thrall to psychoanalysis that it is universally true, and this thesis forms the recurrent motif that binds these essays together. Instead he argues that psychoanalysis functions as something that is only ever locally true. These arguments are elaborated upon in a range of contexts, from night clubs, garages and trains to theme parks, magic circles and yoga, and the different strands are distilled into a cohesive thesis in the definitive final essay ‘Psychoanalytic Myth Today’.

The essays presented here were initially published in scattered newsletters and journals, and were written intermittently in a period stretching back over ten years. Ian Parker has written widely in this area, and these lively and innovative essays taken together form a searing manifesto against the accepted dogmas of psychoanalysis.

Throughout history, public corruption has been endemic. Exceptionally, it was significantly suppressed in modern times in northwestern Europe. Why did that happen? Why did politicians introduce measures that acted against their own interests? And are the political forces that then induced reform alive in today's world? Neild explores these highly topical questions by looking at the suppression of corruption in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in four countries – France, Germany, Britain and the USA; at the evolution of independent judiciaries; at developments in the twentieth century, including a reminder of how widely corruption was used as a weapon in the Cold War, particularly in the Third World. Finally, and most devastatingly, he analyses the rise and decline in standards of public life in Britain in the twentieth century.

In the midst of World War II, the Exhibition of Modern Brazilian Paintings left Rio de Janeiro, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and arrived in London. The Exhibition resulted from a donation of 168 artworks by 70 of the most recognized Brazilian Modernist painters, including Tarsila do Amaral, Candido Portinari, Emiliano Di Cavalcanti, and Lasar Segall. The largest collection sent abroad until that time, and still today the most remarkable show of Brazilian art ever displayed in the United Kingdom, was held firstly at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, in the end of 1944, and subsequently toured throughout other seven British galleries until September 1945. As a contribution to the Allied war effort, the funds from its sales were given to the Royal Air Force. It is noteworthy that the Olympic Games planned to be held in London during the 1944 summer were cancelled due to World War II, but a show of unknown paintings from Brazil reached the British capital and was hosted by its most traditional art institution. Notwithstanding its historical relevance and unmatched scale, this event had never been academically investigated. 

Even though it was publicized as private entrepreneurship, the dissertation proves that the Brazilian foreign service was the main propelling force of the Exhibition and addresses two fundamental questions regarding the episode. In the first place, why did the Brazilian government back a logistically complicated, politically delicate, and time-consuming idea of sending artworks to be displayed in the United Kingdom during the War? Second, how successful was the Exhibition in view of its original goals, specifically those set by Brazilian diplomacy? Conducted by a career diplomat who practices Public Diplomacy, the research pursued, by applying the hermeneutic method and theories of this field and its subset Cultural Diplomacy, to interpret the reconstructed and contextualized object. Based on its findings, the author argues that the initiative was part of a broader diplomatic program developed by Minister Oswaldo Aranha. Aiming at advancing bilateral ties with the United Kingdom, Aranha sought to foster closer relations between Brazilian and British societies. Furthermore, the Exhibition worked as a cultural component of the part in the War played by Brazil, the only Latin American nation to deploy an important contingent—25,000 troops—to fight on the European front. Both the military and artistic contributions must be understood as diplomatic attempts to amass international prestige and reposition Brazil in the postwar emerging order. Having consolidated its regional leadership, the nation aspired to be perceived as a global player that shared the prevailing Western values and aesthetics. The research further claims that the initiative was intended and managed to achieve a substantial impact on views about Brazil, by means of conveying a well-planned message of solidarity, modernization and artistic prowess, which was consistent with the country’s diplomatic goals and attuned to Britain’s wartime mindset. It focuses on the developments between the period in which Oswaldo Aranha was appointed as Brazilian minister of foreign affairs (1938–1944) and the end of World War II (1945), in order to situate the Public Diplomacy aspects of the Exhibition within Brazil’s foreign relations. It thus strives to demonstrate that decades before the coining of the concept—to this day discussed mostly between North American and European scholars—Brazilian diplomacy was able to conceive and execute an initiative in line with the twenty-first-century state-of-the-art Public Diplomacy. It achieved unprecedented press coverage; high attendance that included influential figures within local society; the entrance of at least 25 Brazilian paintings into important British collections; and the sale of around 80 artworks in benefit of the Royal Air Force. Despite these resounding short-term successes, the lasting effects on Brazil’s reputation were arguably mitigated by the diplomatic shift after the end of the War. The revision of the Brazilian foreign policy that followed the replacement of Oswaldo Aranha and President Getúlio Vargas impeded the sustaining of the Exhibition’s reputational impacts for a longer period, which is a most coveted goal of Public Diplomacy.

It is significant that no other show of Brazilian art in the United Kingdom would ever emulate the Exhibition magnitude, devised in the challenging context of War. The coherence between narrative and diplomatic objectives, the powerful and tailor-made message and its appeal to receptors, the involvement of non-official players as well as the high-level political support made the Exhibition, in the author’s evaluation, a role model for the cultural category of Public Diplomacy avant la lettre. First of all, the Brazilian government had clearly defined its foreign goals, with stepping up its political stature on the world stage being the first priority. Furthermore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was able to develop a solid judgment of Brazil’s own international stance, of its reputation among British society, and of the United Kingdom’s cultural environment. Hence, it was accordingly defined a compelling narrative compatible with the emerging hegemonic values in the West. In this sense, the choice of the modern idiom and its cosmopolitanism to represent Brazilian art abroad suited the radical aesthetic rupture that would mark the victors’ new artistic patterns. In addition, the underlying message of the initiative, the solidarity with distant brothers-in-arms—well represented by the Royal Air Force, a symbol of British pride in those dramatic times of War—was extremely attractive and efficient. The combination of top-tier political backing, without which it would not have been possible to accomplish the feat of sending the artworks across the ocean, and the participation of nongovernmental cultural figures, lending credibility to the initiative, made the Exhibition a successful case of outreach. Finally, the engagement of key Brazilian and British individuals and institutions was the result of a two-way Public Diplomacy action, which involved listening to the receiver and conveying a world-class, coherent, and appropriate message, aligned with and serving diplomatic objectives. 

By uncovering and studying the Exhibition, the research will hopefully trigger interest in the identification of a Brazilian strain of Public Diplomacy—whose discussion is still very incipient among Brazilianists and researchers in general—with its own subjects and methods, thus contributing to further this field’s theoretical development. A desired indirect outcome of the dissertation is thus to foster an academic concern about a Brazilian distinctiveness in the field, with regard not only to themes and objects of study but also by developing new and useful analytical contributions to the theoretical debate and to the diplomatic praxis. The work sheds light on these Public Diplomacy aspects and contributes, through a relevant case study, to incorporate them into the studies of Brazilian diplomacy. The advantages for Brazil of valuing and perfecting its congenital aptitude for Public Diplomacy are many and evident. As a regional power with limited economic and military assets, its place on the international stage benefits greatly from its capacity to persuade and captivate foreign societies. By doing so, Brazil has better conditions to deal with more powerful nations, to function as a bridge between developed and developing countries, to add value to its products, to receive investments, students, and tourists, to participate in global forums, to shape and influence agendas, and to ensure better treatment of its citizens abroad. Brazil’s traditional social consensus around pacifism, embodied in its constitution, and its historic reliance on multilateralism reinforce the convenience of the country’s scholars and practitioners advancing Public Diplomacy theory and praxis. 

This book presents an exhaustive analytical history of the great Spanish publishing house Editorial Gustavo Gili, specifically the scientific and technological works in its catalogue that were published during the years of the Franco regime.

Glimpsing an elderly man leading his blind daughter on a pilgrimage, Junoshin Kakiri, a ‘ronin’ or freelance samurai, swiftly kills him with his sword. Asked why he murdered such an innocent, Junoshin shares his concerns about the growing ‘Harahuhi Tou’ (Belly-shaking Party) cult to which the man was devoted, a fear which rapidly spreads through the Kuroae clan.

Alarmed by the cult, Shuzen Oura, the warlike leader of half this kingdom, soon hires Junoshin to rescue the Kuroae from the Harahuhi Tou but his studious power rival, Tatewaki Naito, cunningly pays the mercenary samurai to usurp Oura on his behalf.

Set in Edo-period Japan, ‘Punk Samurai Slash Down’ follows the power struggles which entangle Junoshin within the Kuroae clan, polarizing the kingdom between an academic leader unable to fight and an unlearned martial arts expert. Machida’s novel adopts a unique and arresting style, combining an often unconcerned approach to violent action with slapstick humour.

At the turn of the 21st century, Australia witnessed a shift in the public debates related to the history of European settlement of the continent and settler–Indigenous relations. This historical moment was a result of revisionist history which made the violent settlement of the land and Indigenous dispossession more visible to the public, as well as the culmination of Indigenous activism and testimonial accounts. Consequently, the Australian White settler majority has experienced an unsettlement of their sense of belonging, resulting in what some scholars call “setter anxiety” (Slater 2019).
  This book analyzes how settler (un)belonging is narrativized in a particular literary genre, that of memoir, written by Australian public intellectuals, such as historians, artists, writers, and commentators, in the period after 2000. I call these narratives memoirs of settler belonging. Becoming a popular genre in Australia, they have one thing in common: they all ask and seek answers to the implicit question, how to belong as a white settler who bears witness to the legacy of violent colonization vis-à-vis continuing Indigenous dispossession? How to justify the settler presence and love of the land that was stolen from First Australians?
   The individual chapters examine various groups of memoirs produced by Australian public intellectuals who textualize their settler anxiety and their desire to belong ethically. The groups include historians’ memoirs, White women’s travel narratives, experimental place-writing, and eco- and landscape memoirs. The book advances an argument that throughout almost two decades, a shift can be traced in representing settler (un)belonging textually. While in the earlier memoirs setter anxiety was visibly thematized and an active approach to resolving the impasse of (un)belonging was sought, the more recent memoirs, particularly those morphing into landscape- and eco-memoir, have moved away from the critical reflection on settler anxiety as being generated by the continuing Indigenous dispossession, and replaced this anxiety of settler belonging with a new perspective which brings forward the concept of settler belonging based on an intimate historical and environmental knowledge of local landscapes, and on affective engagement with the Country.

This book explores Quaker enterprises from 1700 to the twentieth century as examples of an ethical capitalism, and tests them against prominent economists and their concern for economic justice. King offers ‘Quakernomics’ as a model for corporate social responsibility in the modern world, exploring Quaker businesses which combine commercial success with philanthropy and social activism.

The volume offers an exploration of the theory and practice of Quaker enterprise through the centuries, set against the ideas of prominent economists such as Smith, Marx, Marshall, Schumpeter, the Austrian School, Keynes, Friedman, Krugman, Stiglitz and Sachs. It also analyses the role that Ayn Rand and Milton Friedman have had in leading to what King underlines as the largely unethical capitalism of today.

Covering the work of Quaker chocolatiers, iron masters and bankers, ‘Quakernomics’ presents a historical account of the Quakers’ practice of a ‘total capitalism’, which King argues we should regard not as an antiquated nicety but as an immediately relevant guide for today’s global economy.

Aphra Behn (1640–1689), a prolific and popular playwright, poet, novelist, and translator, has an extensive corpus of literature that plays a key role in literary history as the work of a female author. Based upon word counts, Quantitative Literary Analysis of the Works of Aphra Behn chronicles Behn’s obsession with the mystery and power of love and early modern passions through her entire oeuvre. Love, for Behn, is an external power, sometimes figured as the boy god Cupid or an abstraction, that enters the body with pain and pleasure and leaves the victim searching for understanding. The book follows two threads of argument: one using quantitative measures to indicate passages for significant close reading of preferred language and the other focused upon her use of small words like thou, sir, or said. Situating her writings in the conflicts of Early Modern discourses on the passions, the book demonstrates that Behn’s language reveals generic patterns for representing love that include a warning about its potential to destroy the body and condemn the soul. Taken as a whole, Behn’s literary production is an extraordinary examination of the early modern concept of love at a moment of change in the language and meaning of the passions.

Each chapter focuses on one type of writing: poetry, drama, and prose. Her poetry conjures love as an extremely powerful, disabling force, conveyed through the eyes, ears and hands, and acting on the heart and soul. The recipient of love’s force is essentially passive except for the need to reflect and decide if the love is worthy or to regret the passion after abandonment. Language from the pastoral mode structures her love poetry; the shady greenery and responsive nature provide a context of ideal love in a golden age with the everlasting fulfilment of mutual desires or a suitably moody place to die. The physical progression of love remains the same in her drama: an external force entering the body with pain and sweet desire stimulating the power of reason to preserve honor and determine the quality of desire. The trail of betrayed lovers and broken vows in her comedies testifies to the prevailing force of love. In the dramatic context, love is unsurprisingly comic and active. Operating in the same way on the body, Behn’s stage version of love is overblown, farcical and stagey. In her prose, the genre of writing most noted for her amatory style, Behn once again adopts the configuration of love as a powerful and mysterious external force operating on passive victims who respond in conversations with their hearts. Opposite to the succinct style of Behn’s love poetry, love in her prose is characterized by amplitude and repetition. It shares with poetry, however, love’s contradictory nature, and her love aphorisms have the balanced antithesis of her verse.

Each chapter also features a unique comparative study that illustrates Behn in a specific context. The poetry chapter compares Behn's Poems Upon Several Occasions to a corpus of six contemporary poetry collections by Ephelia (1679), the Earl of Rochester (1680), Nahum Tate (1684), Anne Killigrew (1684), Edmund Waller, fifth edition, 1686, and Philomela or Elizabeth Singer Rowe (1696). The Drama comparison includes plays by Thomas Killigrew, William Davenant, John Dryden, Thomas Shadwell, George Etherege, Edward Ravenscroft, Thomas Durfey, Thomas Otway, Thomas Southerne, and Mary Pix. Behn's Fiction corpus is compared to Aretina by George McKenzie (1660), The Blazing World, by Margaret Cavendish (1668), Five Love-Letters to a Cavalier translated by Roger L'Estrange (1678), John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress (1678), The Princess of Cleves by Madame de La Fayette (1679), Don Tomazo by Thomas Dangerfield (1680), The Royal Loves, by Mademoiselle (Anne) Roche-Guihen (1680), The Martyrdom of Theodora and Didymus by Roger Boyle (1687), Incognita by William Congreve (1692) and The Inhumane Cardinal by Mary Pix (1696).

The book is a collection of nine quantitative studies – each probing one aspect of Renaissance Florentine economy and society. These are organized into three parts by topic, source material and analysis methods. Part one, on risk and return, contains two chapters. Chapter 1 studies Florentine plague outbreaks. Recent work has highlighted the incompatibility of evidence from written records with medical evidence. The chapter reconciles these approaches by using financial market evidence to interpret the written records. The next chapter examines a commonly used interest rate time series for Renaissance Florence. Significant literature has evolved during the past quarter century that measures interest rates to assess state formation trends in late medieval and early modern Europe. This chapter links financial theory and medieval law to better measure the Florentine interest rate, showing that the interest rate evidence used to date must be reconsidered.

The second part examines Florentine society. This part shows how Florentine occupations can be separated into two categories by comparing wealth levels and distributions; demonstrates that the architectural and artistic explosion during the mid-fifteenth century was the result of a subsidy – a tax loophole that exempted the home and its furnishings from an significant new tax, leading to a transfer of assets into art and architecture; finds that Florentine neighbourhoods remained integrated between the mid-fourteenth and late fifteenth centuries; and provides evidence that the modern life-cycle curve of wealth accumulation might not have held true in Renaissance Florence.

The final part looks at work – focusing specifically on the wool industry. It examines the historical structure of Florentine firms and offers a wide range of evidence to demonstrate that the industry’s firms were small and perfectly competitive with little monopoly power. It also demonstrates the value of dynamic data in understanding women’s work during the late medieval and early modern periods. Finally, it shows that the foundation of the Florentine cloth industry reduced the risk facing the individual company by relying on a combination of a guild organization and the putting-out production system – both systems that are rejected by economic theory as hopelessly inefficient.

The book is a collection of nine quantitative studies – each probing one aspect of Renaissance Florentine economy and society. These are organized into three parts by topic, source material and analysis methods. Part one, on risk and return, contains two chapters. Chapter 1 studies Florentine plague outbreaks. Recent work has highlighted the incompatibility of evidence from written records with medical evidence. The chapter reconciles these approaches by using financial market evidence to interpret the written records. The next chapter examines a commonly used interest rate time series for Renaissance Florence. Significant literature has evolved during the past quarter century that measures interest rates to assess state formation trends in late medieval and early modern Europe. This chapter links financial theory and medieval law to better measure the Florentine interest rate, showing that the interest rate evidence used to date must be reconsidered.

The second part examines Florentine society. This part shows how Florentine occupations can be separated into two categories by comparing wealth levels and distributions; demonstrates that the architectural and artistic explosion during the mid-fifteenth century was the result of a subsidy – a tax loophole that exempted the home and its furnishings from an significant new tax, leading to a transfer of assets into art and architecture; finds that Florentine neighbourhoods remained integrated between the mid-fourteenth and late fifteenth centuries; and provides evidence that the modern life-cycle curve of wealth accumulation might not have held true in Renaissance Florence.

The final part looks at work – focusing specifically on the wool industry. It examines the historical structure of Florentine firms and offers a wide range of evidence to demonstrate that the industry’s firms were small and perfectly competitive with little monopoly power. It also demonstrates the value of dynamic data in understanding women’s work during the late medieval and early modern periods. Finally, it shows that the foundation of the Florentine cloth industry reduced the risk facing the individual company by relying on a combination of a guild organization and the putting-out production system – both systems that are rejected by economic theory as hopelessly inefficient.

Family law is a site of social conflict and the erasure of non-traditional families. This book explores how conservative religious and progressive queer groups can cooperatively work together to expand family law’s recognition beyond the traditional state-sponsored family. Various religious groups have shown an interest in promoting alternative family structures.

For example, certain Muslim and Mormon communities have advocated for polygamy, in the process aligning with queer groups’ interest in overcoming the engrafting of monogamy into state law. Advocacy by North American religious conservatives for reforms in favor of non-conjugal families and against same-sex marriage overlaps with certain queer efforts to legitimize friendships and non-traditional families more generally.

This book explores these potential areas of queer and religious political cooperation—including limitations and principled reservations to such cooperation. It then looks at additional future arenas of queer and religious political cooperation going beyond family law.

Ultimately, this book aims to locate and systematize seemingly isolated interest convergences between queer and religious groups into a coherent theoretical framework that can also be used on the ground in political work. In challenging dominant narratives of ‘culture wars,’ the book’s analysis is timely and in line with the need to prevent the escalation of social cleavages looming over our increasingly diverse societies. 

Family law is a site of social conflict and the erasure of non-traditional families. This book explores how conservative religious and progressive queer groups can cooperatively work together to expand family law’s recognition beyond the traditional state-sponsored family. Various religious groups have shown an interest in promoting alternative family structures.

For example, certain Muslim and Mormon communities have advocated for polygamy, in the process aligning with queer groups’ interest in overcoming the engrafting of monogamy into state law. Advocacy by North American religious conservatives for reforms in favor of non-conjugal families and against same-sex marriage overlaps with certain queer efforts to legitimize friendships and non-traditional families more generally.

This book explores these potential areas of queer and religious political cooperation—including limitations and principled reservations to such cooperation. It then looks at additional future arenas of queer and religious political cooperation going beyond family law.

Ultimately, this book aims to locate and systematize seemingly isolated interest convergences between queer and religious groups into a coherent theoretical framework that can also be used on the ground in political work. In challenging dominant narratives of ‘culture wars,’ the book’s analysis is timely and in line with the need to prevent the escalation of social cleavages looming over our increasingly diverse societies. 

‘Rabindranath Tagore's Drama in the Perspective of Indian Theatre’ maps Tagore’s place in the Indian dramatic/performance traditions by examining unexplored critical perspectives on his drama such as his texts as performance texts; their exploration in multimedia; reflections of Indian culture in his plays; comparison with playwrights; theatrical links to his world of music and performance genres; his plays in the context of cross-cultural, intercultural theatre; the playwright as a poet-performer-composer and their interconnections; and his drama on the Indian stage.

The book explores both dramatic as well as theatrical traditions in Tagore’s plays by discussing vital issues on Tagore’s drama including gender politics; Tagore’s poetic tradition of dramatic action, time and space; his use of myth humour and satire in the Indian dramatic milieu and discussing Tagore and his contemporaries; modern Indian drama and also the nation and Tagore’s drama. The book also identifies Tagore’s drama of performance art; his stories that inspired many film creations; furthers the view of Tagore’s theatre as the creations of a poet-dramatist, poet-translator, dramatist-producer, actor-singer-choreographer and dramatist-scenographer, all the while not missing the vitality of the dramatist as seen in his intercultural performance/s; his use of environ, mise en scène and the theatrical milieu and last but not the least, the modern productions of Tagore plays.

The book Radical Human Centricity sits between two worlds: business and anthropology. It is a critique and reassessment of commercial innovation research from an anthropological perspective born out of years of experience in innovation research consulting and anthropological scholarship. It demonstrates the many failures of contemporary commercial research, from market research to research approaches in design thinking and human-centered design. After identifying the key problems, it provides a set of solutions to elevate commercial research and allow practitioners to fulfill the empty promises of design thinking and human-centered design. The book ends with a clear articulation of how to fix what is broken and actually be human-centric, just now from within the radical human-centric approach. 

This book is written for two audiences. The first is a business reader involved in innovation and strategy. It helps this business reader to understand the growing problem lurking in commercial research and offers practical advice to develop a research practice better able to fuel innovation, strategy, and design processes than anything currently available. It provides a practical and theoretical engagement with research practice to change how companies study human lives. It identifies the many gaps in more typical research methods, fills them with new tools and approaches from anthropological and ethnographic practices, and finally contextualizes them within an end-to-end radically human-centric research process.

The second reader is an anthropological scholar or student interested in the applied anthropological practices in commercial research. This is an increasingly important area of theory and practice within contemporary anthropology, and few books in this area are written by practicing commercial anthropologists. While the theoretical treatments will be known to an advanced anthropological reader, it applies them in contexts and examples not commonly discussed in the ethnographic disciplines. Additionally, the methodological examples and practice anecdotes introduce the reader to a world few academic researchers ever experience. Consequently, this book adds insight into an area of anthropological practice not well understood by academic social scientists and offers a window into new avenues of applied anthropology.

The purpose of this book is to create a space for a new form of applied commercial ethnography, called radical human -centricity. It is unique in that it addresses the problems of business research in a thoughtful, scholarly way, while also providing practical examples for innovation researchers of all backgrounds to emulate.

The book Radical Human Centricity sits between two worlds: business and anthropology. It is a critique and reassessment of commercial innovation research from an anthropological perspective born out of years of experience in innovation research consulting and anthropological scholarship. It demonstrates the many failures of contemporary commercial research, from market research to research approaches in design thinking and human-centered design. After identifying the key problems, it provides a set of solutions to elevate commercial research and allow practitioners to fulfill the empty promises of design thinking and human-centered design. The book ends with a clear articulation of how to fix what is broken and actually be human-centric, just now from within the radical human-centric approach. 

This book is written for two audiences. The first is a business reader involved in innovation and strategy. It helps this business reader to understand the growing problem lurking in commercial research and offers practical advice to develop a research practice better able to fuel innovation, strategy, and design processes than anything currently available. It provides a practical and theoretical engagement with research practice to change how companies study human lives. It identifies the many gaps in more typical research methods, fills them with new tools and approaches from anthropological and ethnographic practices, and finally contextualizes them within an end-to-end radically human-centric research process.

The second reader is an anthropological scholar or student interested in the applied anthropological practices in commercial research. This is an increasingly important area of theory and practice within contemporary anthropology, and few books in this area are written by practicing commercial anthropologists. While the theoretical treatments will be known to an advanced anthropological reader, it applies them in contexts and examples not commonly discussed in the ethnographic disciplines. Additionally, the methodological examples and practice anecdotes introduce the reader to a world few academic researchers ever experience. Consequently, this book adds insight into an area of anthropological practice not well understood by academic social scientists and offers a window into new avenues of applied anthropology.

The purpose of this book is to create a space for a new form of applied commercial ethnography, called radical human -centricity. It is unique in that it addresses the problems of business research in a thoughtful, scholarly way, while also providing practical examples for innovation researchers of all backgrounds to emulate.

This monograph is concerned with what it sees as two complementary phenomena: that of contemporary writers of fiction who seem to have turned their backs on the traditional novel in favour of what might be termed a radical realism, alongside a more general movement towards and interest in auto/biography and memoir in the post-truth era. By reviewing the work of four authors whose trajectory to date represents engagement with novelistic as well as auto/biographical forms, it reconsiders differences between ‘fiction’ and ‘non-fiction’, as they pertain to both production and reception, including issues of generic categorization, the prevalence or exclusion of specific textual markers, and readerly expectations in navigating diverse and shifting literary cultures.

The Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard’s Min Kamp (My Struggle) series is considered in English translation in relation to its cross-cultural reception; it is also placed within the context of Knausgaard’s oeuvre as a whole. Some parallels between the work of Knausgaard and that of Rachel Cusk are drawn, though in the case of the latter the focus is not so much on the memoirs but on the Outline trilogy that followed the trilogy of memoirs and the extent to which it represents both a departure from and a continuation of some of the concerns expressed in previous non-fictional works with a specific focus on Aftermath. 

Comparison of Jeanette Winterson’s semi-autobiographical debut novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, with her memoir entitled Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? allows for close textual reading of scenes initially treated in novelistic form and revisited in the memoir permitting discussion of points of similarity and difference in their treatment in relation to the constraints and affordances of genre, where these apply. Discussion of Xiaolu Guo’s memoir, Once Upon A Time in the East, focusses both on its cross-cultural reception and on the place of the memoir within the Guo corpus.In some ways all four writers are less concerned with traditional aspects of story and more concerned to deploy a range of forms, including narrative, to serve their interest in broader questions of truth, agency and self-understanding. 

This monograph is concerned with what it sees as two complementary phenomena: that of contemporary writers of fiction who seem to have turned their backs on the traditional novel in favour of what might be termed a radical realism, alongside a more general movement towards and interest in auto/biography and memoir in the post-truth era. By reviewing the work of four authors whose trajectory to date represents engagement with novelistic as well as auto/biographical forms, it reconsiders differences between ‘fiction’ and ‘non-fiction’, as they pertain to both production and reception, including issues of generic categorization, the prevalence or exclusion of specific textual markers, and readerly expectations in navigating diverse and shifting literary cultures.

The Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard’s Min Kamp (My Struggle) series is considered in English translation in relation to its cross-cultural reception; it is also placed within the context of Knausgaard’s oeuvre as a whole. Some parallels between the work of Knausgaard and that of Rachel Cusk are drawn, though in the case of the latter the focus is not so much on the memoirs but on the Outline trilogy that followed the trilogy of memoirs and the extent to which it represents both a departure from and a continuation of some of the concerns expressed in previous non-fictional works with a specific focus on Aftermath. 

Comparison of Jeanette Winterson’s semi-autobiographical debut novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, with her memoir entitled Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? allows for close textual reading of scenes initially treated in novelistic form and revisited in the memoir permitting discussion of points of similarity and difference in their treatment in relation to the constraints and affordances of genre, where these apply. Discussion of Xiaolu Guo’s memoir, Once Upon A Time in the East, focusses both on its cross-cultural reception and on the place of the memoir within the Guo corpus.In some ways all four writers are less concerned with traditional aspects of story and more concerned to deploy a range of forms, including narrative, to serve their interest in broader questions of truth, agency and self-understanding. 

This book explores Raf Simons’ revolutionary impact on fashion and modern masculinity, analyzing his collections and campaigns to uncover how his work challenges traditional masculine norms and creates new visual narratives in menswear.

This book explores Raf Simons’ revolutionary impact on fashion and modern masculinity, analyzing his collections and campaigns to uncover how his work challenges traditional masculine norms and creates new visual narratives in menswear.

Ragnar Nurkse (1907-1959) was one of the most important pioneers of development economics, and although his writings have been neglected in recent decades, leading development economists and international organizations such the United Nations are now turning to Nurkse in search for new inspiration, due to the failure of neoclassical economics to adequately explain the experience of poor and developing countries. Until now, however, all Nurkse’s published works were out of print, and the most recent editions stem from the early 1960s.

‘Ragnar Nurkse, Trade and Development’ reprints Nukse’s most important works, making them widely available for an audience of economists, policy makers, researchers and students. The works reprinted here include two essays never printed before in this format: ‘Growth in Underdeveloped Countries’, (1952) and ‘International Trade Theory and Development Policy’ (1957), as well as the collected essays from ‘Equilibrium and Growth in the World Economy’ (1961), and the monograph ‘Problems of Capital Formation in Underdeveloped Countries’ (1953).

Ragnar Nurkse (1907-1959) was one of the most important pioneers of development economics, and although his writings have been neglected in recent decades, leading development economists and international organizations such the United Nations are now turning to Nurkse in search for new inspiration, due to the failure of neoclassical economics to adequately explain the experience of poor and developing countries. Until now, however, all Nurkse’s published works were out of print, and the most recent editions stem from the early 1960s.

‘Ragnar Nurkse, Trade and Development’ reprints Nukse’s most important works, making them widely available for an audience of economists, policy makers, researchers and students. The works reprinted here include two essays never printed before in this format: ‘Growth in Underdeveloped Countries’, (1952) and ‘International Trade Theory and Development Policy’ (1957), as well as the collected essays from ‘Equilibrium and Growth in the World Economy’ (1961), and the monograph ‘Problems of Capital Formation in Underdeveloped Countries’ (1953).

Ragnar Nurkse (1907-1959) was one of the most important pioneers of development economics, and although his writings have been neglected in recent decades, leading development economists and international organizations such as the United Nations are now turning to Nurkse in search for new inspiration, due to the failure of neoclassical economics to adequately explain the experience of poor and developing countries. Yet Nurkse’s contribution to the field has never before been analysed before at book length.

The present volume, ‘Ragnar Nurkse (1907-2007): Classical Development Economics and its Relevance for Today’, contains a selection of papers that cast new insight on Nurkse’s thought, and discuss his relevance for today. The volume also celebrates the 100th anniversary of this profoundly important thinker’s birth.

Ragnar Nurkse (1907-1959) was one of the most important pioneers of development economics, and although his writings have been neglected in recent decades, leading development economists and international organizations such as the United Nations are now turning to Nurkse in search for new inspiration, due to the failure of neoclassical economics to adequately explain the experience of poor and developing countries. Yet Nurkse’s contribution to the field has never before been analysed before at book length.

The present volume, ‘Ragnar Nurkse (1907-2007): Classical Development Economics and its Relevance for Today’, contains a selection of papers that cast new insight on Nurkse’s thought, and discuss his relevance for today. The volume also celebrates the 100th anniversary of this profoundly important thinker’s birth.

Ralph Ellison and Cinema reveals the crucial role of cinema throughout Ellison’s career. In his most famous work, Invisible Man (1952), cinema is part of a cultural and institutional landscape; as such, it is integral to the way the novel’s protagonist feels and thinks. In Ellison’s critical essays, cinema is simultaneously a crystallization of racial prejudice, a vehicle of ideas about history, and an index of the variously illusory and the revelatory character of dreams. But it is in his monumental, unfinished second novel, posthumously published as Three Days Before the Shooting . . . (2010), that Ellison’s thinking about cinema is brought to its imaginative and theoretical peak. Here, Ellison gives full rein to a sensibility that is both cinephile and cine-sceptical; in the book, Ellison is as much concerned with cinematic form as he is with cinematic content. To chart the breadth and depth of Ellison’s cinematic interests, Ralph Ellison and Cinema discusses the author’s major works alongside private correspondence, Hollywood films in which Ellison took particular interest, and marginalia in the author’s personal library. Ralph Ellison and Cinema also provides a detailed account of the intellectual and social contexts in which Ellison’s works took shape.

Explores how Ray Petri and the Buffalo collective revolutionized fashion photography in the 1980s by blending subcultural style, radical diversity, and gender politics to create a new cultural template still influential today

Scottish-born, visionary stylist Ray Petri (1948–1989) defined the look and feel of radical 1980s magazines such as The Face, i-D, and Arena. Founder of the maverick Buffalo collective, Petri styled kilts with MA-1 flight jackets and Armani suits with Dr. Martens boots to create genre-defying looks that shook up London’s subcultural scene from grassroots to high fashion. Harnessing the power of street style, sportswear, club culture, new wave, and dandyism, Petri’s vision took the sartorial vocabulary of the perpetually displaced into the mainstream. His radical casting of Black and multiracial models, styling of men in skirts, and women cast as men was a retort to the prevailing aesthetic in contemporary fashion. Moreover, it marked a culturally reflexive, implicitly political approach to the relationship between fashion and identity. Challenging the policing of masculinity and sexuality in particular, Petri’s imagery boldly toyed with the iconography of homoeroticism, employing the language of fashion in the activism for gay liberation against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis. The eclectic Buffalo circle included fellow stylist Mitzi Lorenz; photographers Jamie Morgan, Mark Lebon and Jean-Baptiste Mondino; model-muses Nick and Barry Kamen and a young Naomi Campbell; and musicians such as Neneh Cherry. Shaped by Petri, the Buffalo attitude is intrinsic to style culture today having since inspired legions of photographers, stylists, and designers from Kim Jones to Ibrahim Kamara, Martine Rose, and Grace Wales Bonner. The spirit of Buffalo lives on in the countercultural references, cultural diversity, and post-gender conversation that underlies the most powerful of contemporary fashion imagery. This book traces how Ray Petri and Buffalo created the template for modern fashion photography by advocating not simply for a new aesthetic but for a new cultural order.

Explores how Ray Petri and the Buffalo collective revolutionized fashion photography in the 1980s by blending subcultural style, radical diversity, and gender politics to create a new cultural template still influential today

Scottish-born, visionary stylist Ray Petri (1948–1989) defined the look and feel of radical 1980s magazines such as The Face, i-D, and Arena. Founder of the maverick Buffalo collective, Petri styled kilts with MA-1 flight jackets and Armani suits with Dr. Martens boots to create genre-defying looks that shook up London’s subcultural scene from grassroots to high fashion. Harnessing the power of street style, sportswear, club culture, new wave, and dandyism, Petri’s vision took the sartorial vocabulary of the perpetually displaced into the mainstream. His radical casting of Black and multiracial models, styling of men in skirts, and women cast as men was a retort to the prevailing aesthetic in contemporary fashion. Moreover, it marked a culturally reflexive, implicitly political approach to the relationship between fashion and identity. Challenging the policing of masculinity and sexuality in particular, Petri’s imagery boldly toyed with the iconography of homoeroticism, employing the language of fashion in the activism for gay liberation against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis. The eclectic Buffalo circle included fellow stylist Mitzi Lorenz; photographers Jamie Morgan, Mark Lebon and Jean-Baptiste Mondino; model-muses Nick and Barry Kamen and a young Naomi Campbell; and musicians such as Neneh Cherry. Shaped by Petri, the Buffalo attitude is intrinsic to style culture today having since inspired legions of photographers, stylists, and designers from Kim Jones to Ibrahim Kamara, Martine Rose, and Grace Wales Bonner. The spirit of Buffalo lives on in the countercultural references, cultural diversity, and post-gender conversation that underlies the most powerful of contemporary fashion imagery. This book traces how Ray Petri and Buffalo created the template for modern fashion photography by advocating not simply for a new aesthetic but for a new cultural order.

Raymond Federman (1928–2009) is known as a scholar of Samuel Beckett, postmodern theorist and avant-garde novelist. Like Beckett, he was also a self-translator, though unlike Beckett his first language was French and he composed his most significant works in English. In this sense, he took Beckett’s journey in reverse. Federman’s life was, in many ways, a Beckettian journey. He escaped deportation to Auschwitz, where all of his immediate family perished, thanks to his mother pushing him into a closet. Years of lonely wandering followed. Federman explicitly describes his own life in Beckettian terms, and his postmodern novels are thick with intertextual references, with Beckett as the main source. This book offers the first examination of these references, in light of Federman’s contribution to critical theory. 

This study is focused on Federman’s most significant novels, published between 1971 and 1982: Double or Nothing, Amer Eldorado, Take It or Leave It, The Voice in the Closet/La voix dans le cabinet de débarras and The Twofold Vibration. Federman’s two tongues make for a doubled discourse, one in which the boundaries between English and French become porous. He uses fragments of Beckett, Joyce and others (including French poststructuralists) to undermine the gendered identity of his own autobiographical creations. Federman’s use of Beckett, his intertextual strategies and choices, highlight the queer potential of his master’s work. 

The Raymond Federman who passed away in 2009 was a beloved teacher, husband and father. This book is not about him. The characters, or rather creatures, in the first cycle of Federman’s novels are incapable of successfully inhabiting what Federman calls social reality. They are condemned to return ceaselessly to the closet, the site of their traumatic rebirth. The importance of the closet has been addressed in previous studies of Raymond Federman and is many times acknowledged and discussed by the author himself. This study demonstrates, through close reading and intertextual analysis, the importance of a second closet, one explicitly linked to queer identity. The homoeroticism present in Federman’s seventies novels is largely determined by the author’s relationship to Beckett. By guiding the reader through Federman’s intertextual peregrinations, this book explores his remarkable relationship with Sam.

‘Re-balancing China’ addresses three key sets of issues in China’s political economy. Part One of the text provides an analysis of the profound impact of the global financial crisis on China’s economy – an economy deeply integrated in the global economic system through trade and foreign investment. It also examines the positive outcomes of the massive rescue package that constituted China’s policy response to the crisis. The rescue package stimulated Chinese growth and helped to stabilize the global economy as a whole.

Part Two focuses on the challenge of globalization for China’s industrial policy. Since the 1980s, China has pursued an industrial policy aimed at nurturing a substantial group of globally competitive firms, most of which have become superficially successful. However, China still has a negligible number of large firms that are competitive in global markets. China’s experience presents a fundamental challenge to traditional concepts of industrial policy and development.

Finally, Part Three examines China’s international relations, the focal point of which is its relationship with the United States. The US has made it clear that its principal challenge in international relations is the ‘rise of China’ and has announced a ‘tilt towards the Pacific’ in its military strategy. As a result, the core of this interaction spans the East and South China Seas and the countries that surround this area.

‘Re-balancing China’ addresses three key sets of issues in China’s political economy. Part One of the text provides an analysis of the profound impact of the global financial crisis on China’s economy – an economy deeply integrated in the global economic system through trade and foreign investment. It also examines the positive outcomes of the massive rescue package that constituted China’s policy response to the crisis. The rescue package stimulated Chinese growth and helped to stabilize the global economy as a whole.

Part Two focuses on the challenge of globalization for China’s industrial policy. Since the 1980s, China has pursued an industrial policy aimed at nurturing a substantial group of globally competitive firms, most of which have become superficially successful. However, China still has a negligible number of large firms that are competitive in global markets. China’s experience presents a fundamental challenge to traditional concepts of industrial policy and development.

Finally, Part Three examines China’s international relations, the focal point of which is its relationship with the United States. The US has made it clear that its principal challenge in international relations is the ‘rise of China’ and has announced a ‘tilt towards the Pacific’ in its military strategy. As a result, the core of this interaction spans the East and South China Seas and the countries that surround this area.

Civil Society as a conceptual category across different disciplines and ideological and theoretical frameworks has enjoyed an acceptability that no other concept has in the recent past. In response to what could, perhaps, be referred to as the post-euphoric versions of the civil society, scholars across theoretical dispositions began to look for the critical limits of posturing core issues of democracy through the prism of civil society. It is in this context that Partha Chatterjee has made one of the most important interventions by opposing the idea of civil society to that of political society.

‘Re-framing Democracy and Agency in India: Interrogating Political Society’ critically unpacks the concept of ‘political society’, which was formulated as a response to the idea of civil society in a postcolonial context. The volume addresses the theoretical issues of political society through a number of detailed case studies from across India: Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Chattisgarh, Delhi and Maharashtra. These case studies, combined with a sharp focus on the concept of political society, provide those interested in democracy and its changing patterns in India with an indispensable collection of works, brought together in their common pursuit to highlight the limitations with different core concepts that Chatterjee has formulated. Centred around five themes – the relation between the civil and the political; the role of middlemen and their impact on mobility of the subaltern groups; elites and leadership; the fragmentation and intra-subaltern conflicts and its implications for subaltern agency; and finally the idea of moral claims and moral community – this volume re-frames issues of democracy and agency in India within a wider scope than has ever before been published, and gathers ideas from some of the foremost scholars in the field. The volume concludes with a rejoinder from Partha Chatterjee.

Civil Society as a conceptual category across different disciplines and ideological and theoretical frameworks has enjoyed an acceptability that no other concept has in the recent past. In response to what could, perhaps, be referred to as the post-euphoric versions of the civil society, scholars across theoretical dispositions began to look for the critical limits of posturing core issues of democracy through the prism of civil society. It is in this context that Partha Chatterjee has made one of the most important interventions by opposing the idea of civil society to that of political society.

‘Re-framing Democracy and Agency in India: Interrogating Political Society’ critically unpacks the concept of ‘political society’, which was formulated as a response to the idea of civil society in a postcolonial context. The volume addresses the theoretical issues of political society through a number of detailed case studies from across India: Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Chattisgarh, Delhi and Maharashtra. These case studies, combined with a sharp focus on the concept of political society, provide those interested in democracy and its changing patterns in India with an indispensable collection of works, brought together in their common pursuit to highlight the limitations with different core concepts that Chatterjee has formulated. Centred around five themes – the relation between the civil and the political; the role of middlemen and their impact on mobility of the subaltern groups; elites and leadership; the fragmentation and intra-subaltern conflicts and its implications for subaltern agency; and finally the idea of moral claims and moral community – this volume re-frames issues of democracy and agency in India within a wider scope than has ever before been published, and gathers ideas from some of the foremost scholars in the field. The volume concludes with a rejoinder from Partha Chatterjee.

Reading as a Philosophical Practice asks why reading—everyday reading for pleasure—matters so profoundly to so many people. Its answer is that reading is an implicitly philosophical activity. To passionate readers, it is a way of working through, and taking a stand on, certain fundamental questions about who and what we are, how we should live, and how we relate to other things. The book examines the lessons that the activity of reading seems to teach about selfhood, morality, and ontology, and it tries to clarify the sometimes paradoxical claims that serious readers have made about it. To do so, it proposes an original theoretical framework based on Virginia Woolf’s notion of the common reader and Alasdair MacIntyre’s conception of practice. It also asks whether reading can continue to play this role as paper is replaced by electronic screens.

Despite the obvious overlap between the concerns of avid readers and the perennial questions of philosophy, most professional philosophers pay little attention to the kinds of reading that are most familiar to most people. They have had almost nothing to say about the activity of reading for pleasure, considered in itself and as such, or about the ways it matters to ordinary readers. For many serious readers, reading offers a way of working through philosophical matters—a way of posing, and sometimes taking a stand on, certain fundamental questions about what we are, how we should live, and how we relate to other things. This questioning is usually not as explicit or as self-aware as the debates that go on in philosophy journals and seminar rooms. But it has much the same goal and addresses many of the same concerns. Moreover, Reading as a Philosophical Practice argues that it is the “experience” of reading that performs these functions. Reading is not just philosophical on those occasions when we happen to read the works of philosophers or philosophically minded novelists. There is something philosophical about the activity of reading, in itself and as such, and about the experiences people have while engaged in it. The book’s goal is to clarify what this is. 

Reading as a Philosophical Practice asks why reading—everyday reading for pleasure—matters so profoundly to so many people. Its answer is that reading is an implicitly philosophical activity. To passionate readers, it is a way of working through, and taking a stand on, certain fundamental questions about who and what we are, how we should live, and how we relate to other things. The book examines the lessons that the activity of reading seems to teach about selfhood, morality, and ontology, and it tries to clarify the sometimes paradoxical claims that serious readers have made about it. To do so, it proposes an original theoretical framework based on Virginia Woolf’s notion of the common reader and Alasdair MacIntyre’s conception of practice. It also asks whether reading can continue to play this role as paper is replaced by electronic screens.

Despite the obvious overlap between the concerns of avid readers and the perennial questions of philosophy, most professional philosophers pay little attention to the kinds of reading that are most familiar to most people. They have had almost nothing to say about the activity of reading for pleasure, considered in itself and as such, or about the ways it matters to ordinary readers. For many serious readers, reading offers a way of working through philosophical matters—a way of posing, and sometimes taking a stand on, certain fundamental questions about what we are, how we should live, and how we relate to other things. This questioning is usually not as explicit or as self-aware as the debates that go on in philosophy journals and seminar rooms. But it has much the same goal and addresses many of the same concerns. Moreover, Reading as a Philosophical Practice argues that it is the “experience” of reading that performs these functions. Reading is not just philosophical on those occasions when we happen to read the works of philosophers or philosophically minded novelists. There is something philosophical about the activity of reading, in itself and as such, and about the experiences people have while engaged in it. The book’s goal is to clarify what this is. 

‘Reading by Numbers: Recalibrating the Literary Field’ proposes and demonstrates a new digital approach to literary history. Drawing on bibliographical information on the Australian novel in the AustLit database, the book addresses debates and issues in literary studies through a method that combines book history’s pragmatic approach to literary data with the digital humanities’ idea of computer modelling as an experimental and iterative practice. As well as showcasing this method, the case studies in ‘Reading by Numbers’ provide a revised history of the Australian novel, focusing on the nineteenth century and the decades since the end of the Second World War, and engaging with a range of themes including literary and cultural value, authorship, gender, genre and the transnational circulation of fiction. The book’s findings challenge established arguments in Australian literary studies, book history, feminism and gender studies, while presenting innovative ways of understanding literature, publishing, authorship and reading, and the relationships between them. More broadly, by demonstrating critical ways in which the growing number of digital archives in the humanities can be mined, modelled and visualised, ‘Reading by Numbers’ offers new directions and scope for digital humanities research.

‘Reading by Numbers: Recalibrating the Literary Field’ proposes and demonstrates a new digital approach to literary history. Drawing on bibliographical information on the Australian novel in the AustLit database, the book addresses debates and issues in literary studies through a method that combines book history’s pragmatic approach to literary data with the digital humanities’ idea of computer modelling as an experimental and iterative practice. As well as showcasing this method, the case studies in ‘Reading by Numbers’ provide a revised history of the Australian novel, focusing on the nineteenth century and the decades since the end of the Second World War, and engaging with a range of themes including literary and cultural value, authorship, gender, genre and the transnational circulation of fiction. The book’s findings challenge established arguments in Australian literary studies, book history, feminism and gender studies, while presenting innovative ways of understanding literature, publishing, authorship and reading, and the relationships between them. More broadly, by demonstrating critical ways in which the growing number of digital archives in the humanities can be mined, modelled and visualised, ‘Reading by Numbers’ offers new directions and scope for digital humanities research.

This book-length essay on the oeuvre of a distinguished and influential poet, Fiona Sampson, is comprised of a series of interconnecting and dovetailing essays reading across and through a brilliant body of work to date. Dealing in turn with an extremely influential editorial career on the UK and internationalist scenes, much work at the interface of creative writing, poetry and social and health care, much internationally compelling, prize-winning poetry, criticism, creative nonfiction, literary theory and biography, the book aims to tie together and illuminate in different ways the variegated writing career to date, showing how the poetic métier at hand carries across many different modes and genres. Eschewing in the main a biographical approach, this is a book-length commentary that aims to tell and show the unitive story of a compelling literary career (still in vital motion), but more pressingly, that of a truly poignant literary sensibility. Under the lens of this study, Sampson’s oeuvre evinces high intelligence along with empathy, a long-borne and studied engagement with form and an approach to literary work that is deeply personable and engaging, and a democratic spirit that at the same time refuses to abandon the highest standards of excellence. Sampson is read across this work as an exemplary literary presence, after the so-called death of expertise.

This book-length essay on the oeuvre of a distinguished and influential poet, Fiona Sampson, is comprised of a series of interconnecting and dovetailing essays reading across and through a brilliant body of work to date. Dealing in turn with an extremely influential editorial career on the UK and internationalist scenes, much work at the interface of creative writing, poetry and social and health care, much internationally compelling, prize-winning poetry, criticism, creative nonfiction, literary theory and biography, the book aims to tie together and illuminate in different ways the variegated writing career to date, showing how the poetic métier at hand carries across many different modes and genres. Eschewing in the main a biographical approach, this is a book-length commentary that aims to tell and show the unitive story of a compelling literary career (still in vital motion), but more pressingly, that of a truly poignant literary sensibility. Under the lens of this study, Sampson’s oeuvre evinces high intelligence along with empathy, a long-borne and studied engagement with form and an approach to literary work that is deeply personable and engaging, and a democratic spirit that at the same time refuses to abandon the highest standards of excellence. Sampson is read across this work as an exemplary literary presence, after the so-called death of expertise.

The poems, novels and novellas that draw from paramythic forms and tropes draw from its symbolic power and its performative function, and often use it subversively to speak the unspeakable. They often merge incommensurate forms and include foreign words and registers or dialects, which lead to the need for translation, as well as the possibilities for what Apter calls the ‘untranslatable’. Foreign words and strange customs as well as oral story-telling forms may be untranslatable to outsiders – but their usefulness is tied to what Apter refers to as a ‘linguistic form of creative failure with homeopathic uses.’ So, when the paramythic voice, forms and tropes are located, translated, compared and interpreted in works by Australian writers having a Greek heritage, we have a new way to read Australian literature. We no longer read these texts in isolation given an affiliation with an ethnic minority group, but instead we see these as works that, as Gunew says, ‘share a world’, works that include and converse with other neo-cosmopolitan writers with double or multiple cultural perspectives.

Gevork Hartoonian presents a retrospective reading of the first edition of Kenneth Frampton’s Modern Architecture: A Critical History, published in 1980. He provides novel insights into the significance of Frampton’s historiography of modern architecture and beyond. In exploring selected themes from Frampton’s ongoing criticism of contemporary architecture, this book leads us to a critical understanding of the past, the modernity of architecture’s contemporaneity. It unpacks classificatory modes governing the three-part organization of Frampton’s book, the constellation of which allowed him to hold on to an anteroom view of history amidst the flood of temporalities spanning the period 1980–2020. Contemplating Frampton’s book as an artifact stripped of temporality, this original work reads Frampton’s historiography in the intersection of selected epigraphs and three images illuminating the book’s classificatory mode. Hartoonian presents a valuable companion to Frampton’s A Critical History for readers interested in the successes and failures of contemporary architecture’s philosophical and theoretical aspirations.

Gevork Hartoonian presents a retrospective reading of the first edition of Kenneth Frampton’s Modern Architecture: A Critical History, published in 1980. He provides novel insights into the significance of Frampton’s historiography of modern architecture and beyond. In exploring selected themes from Frampton’s ongoing criticism of contemporary architecture, this book leads us to a critical understanding of the past, the modernity of architecture’s contemporaneity. It unpacks classificatory modes governing the three-part organization of Frampton’s book, the constellation of which allowed him to hold on to an anteroom view of history amidst the flood of temporalities spanning the period 1980–2020. Contemplating Frampton’s book as an artifact stripped of temporality, this original work reads Frampton’s historiography in the intersection of selected epigraphs and three images illuminating the book’s classificatory mode. Hartoonian presents a valuable companion to Frampton’s A Critical History for readers interested in the successes and failures of contemporary architecture’s philosophical and theoretical aspirations.

This book will provide an exploration of how popular songs have been analysed in the past, before detailing how an interdisciplinary approach is necessary to appreciate the multimodal format of the medium. Beginning by examining what we can gain from staying ‘inside’ the song, it will explore the role the listener has in determining meaning within a song, before moving on to how, through their lyrics, songwriters can persuade their audience to react in the desired ways. Lyrical storytelling will also be analysed, in terms of the narratives we find within individual songs, but also through ‘song sequences’ where the story spans multiple songs across different projects, and also the ‘concept album’ format. As we move ‘outside’ the song, we see what can be offered in terms of cultural significance, the difference between real events and their lyrical representations, how the format we listen to music in influences our readings, and to what extent visual materials affect our relationships with songs.

The book begins with rich descriptions of the experience of despair, drawn from real life case studies from the author’s clinical practice, and a review of current evidence of suicide prevalence, risk and protective factors. A review of theories about suicide highlights two contemporary explanatory models: Integrated Motivational-Volitional (IMV) model, with focus on perceptions of defeat and entrapment; and Interpersonal Theory (IPT), with focus on thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. The book provides an overview of recent analyses of how literary and poetic texts confront the dilemma of existence in the face of grief and loss, and how literary readings can act as points of transformation.

The book begins with rich descriptions of the experience of despair, drawn from real life case studies from the author’s clinical practice, and a review of current evidence of suicide prevalence, risk and protective factors. A review of theories about suicide highlights two contemporary explanatory models: Integrated Motivational-Volitional (IMV) model, with focus on perceptions of defeat and entrapment; and Interpersonal Theory (IPT), with focus on thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. The book provides an overview of recent analyses of how literary and poetic texts confront the dilemma of existence in the face of grief and loss, and how literary readings can act as points of transformation.

Reaganism is a discourse of devotion and disqualification, combining a neoliberal negative theology of the market with a neoconservative demonization of opponents. By representing the market as a moralistic standard of perfection, a representation of goodness and freedom, Reagan’s personality cult organizes a social fantasy that shelters from inquiry the aggressivity of the market as a war of all against all. In literary theory and criticism, a homologous valuative system centered itself on the canon, which covers for exclusionary social systems by representing them as devoted agents of culture, defined as the Arnoldian study of perfection. Paul de Man argued for the displacement of this positive moralism, critiquing its referential structure for its failure to account for the arbitrariness of signification. But de Man’s proposals ultimately replace the system of culture and canon with a negative moralism, centered on literariness defined as a negative referent, a representation of the impossibility of desire to achieve its aims. 

De Man’s premises have been perpetuated in subsequent theory by persistent misrecognitions of dialectic as suspicious hermeneutics, of materialism as reference to materiality, and of demands for democratic equity as identity politics. The book traces this motivated reasoning through misreadings of Eve Sedgwick’s critique of conspiracy theory and Edward Said’s “secular criticism,” we are led back to the unexamined premises of Paul de Man’s negative moralism and the opportunistic competition of academic careerism. Stephen Best and Sharon Marcus cite Sedgwick to propose “surface reading” as an alternative or supplement to the hermeneutics of suspicion. But in failing to acknowledge that Ricoeur’s definition of a method common to Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud in terms of suspicion is a form of “defining the opposition,” which constructs the other as a negative image of the self. Their theoretical blind spots are thus linked to political or historical blind spots, and their willingness to accept bad faith objectifications of opponents is linked to the interpretive structure of privilege, in which narcissism organizes and sanctions aggressivity.

Like Sedgwick, Edward Said interrogates the homologies among interpretive, political, and historical patterns of behaviour, discerning the implication of literary studies in the rise of Reaganism. His secular criticism proposes an alternative to Reagan’s devotion to markets as well as the humanities’ devotion to canon, but it is attacked by J. Hillis Miller and Stanley Fish as a form of referential moralism. This line of attack is predicated on de Man’s arguments for the impossibility of reference, read as an alibi for competition and opportunism. A new explanation for the connections between de Man’s literary theory and his opportunist collaboration with Belgium’s Nazi occupiers is suggested by his use of arbitrary signification to obviate solidarity and cooperation in many forms—whether it be truth as intersubjective verifiability, justice as coincidence of interests, or aesthetic harmony as the compatibility of diverse preferences. His arguments to replace logic with aesthetics as the primary criterion of judgment are homologous with the replacement of the rule of law with personal rule, an unprincipled opportunism demonstrated by both supremacist politics and market competition.

The articles in this book have been selected for their importance to the reform movement and for their accessibility to the general reader. Intelligibility is one of the movement's two keystones. "Real economic problems" concern real people, so their analysis must be made intelligible to an educated general public if real democracy is to function.

The second keystone of the post-autistic movement is pluralism. All analysis proceeds on the basis of concepts that admit only a partial view of the economy, thereby predetermining the set of possible conclusions. This requires economists to begin to develop an ethos of honesty regarding the limitations of their chosen approaches. In engaging and thought-provoking prose, the 66 chapters of this book bring these and other conflicts out into the open and place them in the context of the major issues of the 21st century.

The articles in this book have been selected for their importance to the reform movement and for their accessibility to the general reader. Intelligibility is one of the movement's two keystones. "Real economic problems" concern real people, so their analysis must be made intelligible to an educated general public if real democracy is to function.

The second keystone of the post-autistic movement is pluralism. All analysis proceeds on the basis of concepts that admit only a partial view of the economy, thereby predetermining the set of possible conclusions. This requires economists to begin to develop an ethos of honesty regarding the limitations of their chosen approaches. In engaging and thought-provoking prose, the 66 chapters of this book bring these and other conflicts out into the open and place them in the context of the major issues of the 21st century.