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How Race Survived US History: From Settlement and Slavery to the Obama Phenomenon
by David R. RoedigerExplores how the idea of race was created and recreated in American history. From the late seventeenth century to the civil-rights movement and the emergence of the American empire, this book examines how race intersected all that was dynamic and progressive in US history, from democracy and economic development to migration and globalization.
How Reason Almost Lost Its Mind: The Strange Career of Cold War Rationality
by Paul Erickson Michael D. Gordin Lorraine Daston Judy L. Klein Rebecca Lemov Thomas SturmIn the United States at the height of the Cold War, roughly between the end of World War II and the early 1980s, a new project of redefining rationality commanded the attention of sharp minds, powerful politicians, wealthy foundations, and top military brass. Its home was the human sciences--psychology, sociology, political science, and economics, among others--and its participants enlisted in an intellectual campaign to figure out what rationality should mean and how it could be deployed. How Reason Almost Lost Its Mind brings to life the people--Herbert Simon, Oskar Morgenstern, Herman Kahn, Anatol Rapoport, Thomas Schelling, and many others--and places, including the RAND Corporation, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, the Cowles Commission for Research and Economics, and the Council on Foreign Relations, that played a key role in putting forth a "Cold War rationality. " Decision makers harnessed this picture of rationality--optimizing, formal, algorithmic, and mechanical--in their quest to understand phenomena as diverse as economic transactions, biological evolution, political elections, international relations, and military strategy. The authors chronicle and illuminate what it meant to be rational in the age of nuclear brinkmanship.
How Reason Almost Lost Its Mind: The Strange Career of Cold War Rationality
by Paul Erickson Michael D. Gordin Lorraine Daston Judy L. Klein Rebecca Lemov Thomas SturmIn the United States at the height of the Cold War, roughly between the end of World War II and the early 1980s, a new project of redefining rationality commanded the attention of sharp minds, powerful politicians, wealthy foundations, and top military brass. Its home was the human sciences—psychology, sociology, political science, and economics, among others—and its participants enlisted in an intellectual campaign to figure out what rationality should mean and how it could be deployed. How Reason Almost Lost Its Mind brings to life the people—Herbert Simon, Oskar Morgenstern, Herman Kahn, Anatol Rapoport, Thomas Schelling, and many others—and places, including the RAND Corporation, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, the Cowles Commission for Research and Economics, and the Council on Foreign Relations, that played a key role in putting forth a “Cold War rationality.” Decision makers harnessed this picture of rationality—optimizing, formal, algorithmic, and mechanical—in their quest to understand phenomena as diverse as economic transactions, biological evolution, political elections, international relations, and military strategy. The authors chronicle and illuminate what it meant to be rational in the age of nuclear brinkmanship.
How Reform Worked in China: The Transition from Plan to Market
by Yingyi QianA noted Chinese economist examines the mechanisms behind China's economic reforms, arguing that universal principles and specific implementations are equally important. As China has transformed itself from a centrally planned economy to a market economy, economists have tried to understand and interpret the success of Chinese reform. As the Chinese economist Yingyi Qian explains, there are two schools of thought on Chinese reform: the “School of Universal Principles,” which ascribes China's successful reform to the workings of the free market, and the “School of Chinese Characteristics,” which holds that China's reform is successful precisely because it did not follow the economics of the market but instead relied on the government. In this book, Qian offers a third perspective, taking certain elements from each school of thought but emphasizing not why reform worked but how it did. Economics is a science, but economic reform is applied science and engineering. To a practitioner, it is more useful to find a feasible reform path than the theoretically best way. The key to understanding how reform has worked in China, Qian argues, is to consider the way reform designs respond to initial historical conditions and contemporary constraints. Qian examines the role of “transitional institutions”—not “best practice institutions” but “incentive-compatible institutions”—in Chinese reform; the dual-track approach to market liberalization; the ownership of firms, viewed both theoretically and empirically; government decentralization, offering and testing hypotheses about its link to local economic development; and the specific historical conditions of China's regional-based central planning.
How Revolutionary Were the Bourgeois Revolutions?
by Neil Davidson“An impressive contribution both to the history of ideas and to political philosophy.” —Alasdair MacIntyre, author of After VirtueOnce of central importance to left historians and activists alike, recently the concept of the “bourgeois revolution” has come in for sustained criticism from both Marxists and conservatives. In this magisterial work, Neil Davidson offers theoretical and historical insights about the nature of revolutions. Through extensive research and comprehensive analysis, Davidson demonstrates that what’s at stake is far from a stale issue for the history books—understanding that these struggles of the past offer far-reaching lessons for today’s radicals.“A monumental work. Neil Davidson has given us what is easily the most comprehensive account yet of the ‘life and times’ of the concept of ‘bourgeois revolution’ [and] has also provided us with a refined set of theoretical tools for understanding the often complex interactions between political revolutions which overturn state institutions and social revolutions which involve a more thoroughgoing transformation of social relations.” —Colin Mooers, author of The Making of Bourgeois Europe“Davidson’s book is one of immense and impressive erudition. His knowledge of the history of Marxist theory and historiography is as detailed as it is comprehensive, and must be well-nigh unrivalled. The endless, complex debates that characterize the Marxist tradition are distilled with clarity and illumination.” —Times Literary Supplement“A brilliant and fascinating book, wide-ranging and lucidly written.” —Jairus Banaji, author of Theory as History
How Revolutionary Were the Bourgeois Revolutions? (Abridged Edition)
by Neil DavidsonAn abridged edition of the insightful work praised as “an impressive contribution both to the history of ideas and to political philosophy” (Alasdair MacIntyre, author of After Virtue).Once of central importance to left historians and activists alike, recently the concept of the “bourgeois revolution” has come in for sustained criticism from both Marxists and conservatives. In this abridged edition of his magisterial How Revolutionary Were the Bourgeois Revolutions? Neil Davidson expertly distills his theoretical and historical insights about the nature of revolutions, making them accessible for general readers.Through extensive research and comprehensive analysis, Davidson demonstrates that what’s at stake is far from a stale issue for the history books—understanding that these struggles of the past offer far reaching lessons for today’s radicals.
How Rich Countries Got Rich ... and Why Poor Countries Stay Poor
by Erik S. ReinertA maverick economist explains how protectionism makes nations rich, free trade keeps them poor---and how rich countries make sure to keep it that way.Throughout history, some combination of government intervention, protectionism, and strategic investment has driven successful development everywhere from Renaissance Italy to the modern Far East. Yet despite the demonstrable success of this approach, development economists largely ignore it and insist instead on the importance of free trade. Somehow, the thing that made rich nations rich supposedly won't work on poor countries anymore. Leading heterodox economist Erik Reinert's invigorating history of economic development shows how Western economies were founded on protectionism and state activism and only later promoted free trade, when it worked to their advantage. In the tug-of-war between the gospel of government intervention and free-market purists, the issue is not that one is more correct, but that the winning nation tends to favor whatever benefits them most. As Western countries begin to sense that the rules of the game they set were rigged, Reinert's classic book gains new urgency. His unique and edifying approach to the history of economic development is critical reading for anyone who wants to understand how we got here and what to do next, especially now that we aren't so sure we'll be the winners anymore.
How Ruins Acquire Aesthetic Value: Modern Ruins, Ruin Porn, and the Ruin Tradition
by Tanya WhitehouseThis book provides the first recent philosophical account of how ruins acquire aesthetic value. It draws on a variety of sources to explore modern ruins, the ruin tradition, and the phenomenon of “ruin porn.” It features an unusual and original combination of philosophical analysis, the author’s photography, and reviews of both new and historically influential case studies, including Richard Haag’s Gas Works Park, the ruins of Detroit, and remnants of the steel industry of Pennsylvania. Tanya Whitehouse shows how the users of ruins can become architects of a new order, transforming derelict sites into aesthetically significant places we should preserve.
How Russia Makes War: Soviet Military Doctrine (Routledge Library Editions: Cold War Security Studies #26)
by Raymond L. GarthoffThis book, first published in 1954, is a key analysis of the guiding policies, basic assumptions, fundamental principles and methods of the Red Army, in many respects the most powerful force in the Cold War. This analysis examines the strategy and tactics, weapons systems, training, discipline and political doctrine of the Red Army, as well as focusing on the political control of the USSR and its satellite states.
How Russia Shaped the Modern World: From Art to Anti-Semitism, Ballet to Bolshevism
by Steven G. MarksIn this sweeping history, Steven Marks tells the fascinating story of how Russian figures, ideas, and movements changed our world in dramatic but often unattributed ways. On Europe's periphery, Russia was an early modernizing nation whose troubles stimulated intellectuals to develop radical and utopian alternatives to Western models of modernity. These provocative ideas gave rise to cultural and political innovations that were exported and adopted worldwide. Wherever there was discontent with modern existence or traditional societies were undergoing transformation, anti-Western sentiments arose. Many people perceived the Russian soul as the antithesis of the capitalist, imperialist West and turned to Russian ideas for inspiration and even salvation. Steven Marks shows that in this turbulent atmosphere of the past century and a half, Russia's lines of influence were many and reached far. Russia gave the world new ways of writing novels. It launched cutting-edge trends in ballet, theater, and art that revolutionized contemporary cultural life. The Russian anarchist movement benignly shaped the rise of vegetarianism and environmentalism while also giving birth to the violent methods of modern terrorist organizations. Tolstoy's visions of nonviolent resistance inspired Gandhi and the U.S. Civil Rights movement at the same time that Russian anti-Semitic conspiracy theories intoxicated right-wing extremists the world over. And dictators from Mussolini and Hitler to Mao and Saddam Hussein learned from the experiments of the Soviet regime. Moving gracefully from Moscow and St. Petersburg to Beijing and Berlin, London and Luanda, Mexico and Mississippi, Marks takes us on an intellectual tour of the Russian exports that shaped the twentieth century. The result is a richly textured and stunningly original account of the extent to which Russia--as an idea and a producer of ideas--has contributed to the making of the modern world. Placing Russia in its global context, the book betters our understanding of the anti-Western strivings that have been such a prominent feature of recent history.
How Russians Understand the New Russia: Consolidation and Contestation
by Paul Chaisty Stephen WhitefieldThe issues that are the most and the least divisive in RussiaThe collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 created a new Russia, with new territorial boundaries and new political and economic systems. The hybrid political economy that emerged incorporated commitments to markets and democracy that were undermined by the state&’s economic interventions and authoritarian restrictions.In this book, Paul Chaisty and Stephen Whitefield argue that the hybridity of the post-Soviet system provided a strong basis for the consolidation of Russian public opinion—and for the management of contestation so that it did not threaten the system itself. Drawing on almost thirty years of original public opinion research in Russia, Chaisty and Whitefield also find, however, that the territorial dimension of Russia&’s postcommunist transformation has disrupted public support for the hybrid political economy. In particular, they trace the reopening of system-level disagreement between system supporters and system opponents to the nationalist turn in Russian politics that culminated in the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the reactivation of Soviet identities.How Russians Understand the New Russia provides the first longitudinal study of Russian public opinion on the system of political and economic power that replaced communism. It offers unique insights into how Russian citizens have adapted their views of the new Russia, identifying the issues that are the most—and the least—divisive. Chaisty and Whitefield track Russian public opinion on a broad range of policy questions, discuss the political importance of both voting and not voting and consider problems of nation-building and national identity. Finally, they weigh the impact of the Ukraine war on Russia&’s hybrid system, and whether consolidation or further contestation is more likely.
How Safe Are We?: Homeland Security Since 9/11
by Janet Napolitano Karen BreslauFormer Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano offers an insightful analysis of American security at home and a prescription for the future.Created in the wake of the greatest tragedy to occur on U.S. soil, the Department of Homeland Security was handed a sweeping mandate: make America safer. It would encompass intelligence and law enforcement agencies, oversee natural disasters, commercial aviation, border security and ICE, cybersecurity, and terrorism, among others. From 2009-2013, Janet Napolitano ran DHS and oversaw 22 federal agencies with 230,000 employees. In How Safe Are We?, Napolitano pulls no punches, reckoning with the critics who call it Frankenstein's Monster of government run amok, and taking a hard look at the challenges we'll be facing in the future. But ultimately, she argues that the huge, multifaceted department is vital to our nation's security. An agency that's part terrorism prevention, part intelligence agency, part law enforcement, public safety, disaster recovery make for an odd combination the protocol-driven, tradition-bound Washington D.C. culture. But, she says, it has made us more safe, secure, and resilient.Napolitano not only answers the titular question, but grapples with how these security efforts have changed our country and society. Where are the failures that leave us vulnerable and what has our 1 trillion dollar investment yielded over the last 15 years? And why haven't we had another massive terrorist attack in the U.S. since September 11th, 2001? In our current political climate, where Donald Trump has politicized nearly every aspect of the department, Napolitano's clarifying, bold vision is needed now more than ever.
How Sanctions Work: Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare
by Vali Nasr Narges Bajoghli Djavad Salehi-Isfahani Ali VaezSanctions have enormous consequences. Especially when imposed by a country with the economic influence of the United States, sanctions induce clear shockwaves in both the economy and political culture of the targeted state, and in the everyday lives of citizens. But do economic sanctions induce the behavioral changes intended? Do sanctions work in the way they should? To answer these questions, the authors of How Sanctions Work highlight Iran, the most sanctioned country in the world. Comprehensive sanctions are meant to induce uprisings or pressures to change the behavior of the ruling establishment, or to weaken its hold on power. But, after four decades, the case of Iran shows the opposite to be true: sanctions strengthened the Iranian state, impoverished its population, increased state repression, and escalated Iran's military posture toward the U.S. and its allies in the region. Instead of offering an 'alternative to war,' sanctions have become a cause of war. Consequently, How Sanctions Work reveals how necessary it is to understand how sanctions really work.
How Science Runs: Impressions from a Scientific Career
by Eric J. MittemeijerThis book offers a considered yet entertaining reflection on the progress of modern scientific research. The winding path of science can only be understood by revealing the personal, human side of scientific research, demystifying the actions of the scientist and exposing the human drama on the stage of science. The book looks at the true nature of contemporary science and scientists through the lens of the personal experiences of the author, a renowned and leading materials scientist, over the last half century. It examines the positive threads of modern scientific progress in sober juxtaposition to the manifest negative developments arising from stiff competition within the current academic landscape. A collection of stories and real-life anecdotes is presented in parallel to the career of the author, providing a first-hand account of important achievements in the field of materials science. As a result, this book provides fascinating reading for students, seasoned scientists, and anybody else interested in the workings and machinations of modern science.
How Sex Became a Civil Liberty
by Leigh Ann WheelerHow Sex Became a Civil Liberty is the first book to show how and why we have come to see sexual expression, sexual practice, and sexual privacy as fundamental rights. Using rich archival sources and oral interviews, historian Leigh Ann Wheeler shows how the private lives of women and men inthe American Civil Liberties Union shaped their understanding of sexual rights as they built the constitutional foundation for the twentieth-century's sexual revolutions. Wheeler introduces readers to a number of fascinating figures, including ACLU founders Crystal Eastman and Roger Baldwin; nudists, victims of involuntary sterilization, and others who appealed to the organization for help; as well as attorneys like Dorothy Kenyon, Harriet Pilpel, and Melvin Wulf,who pushed the ACLU to tackle such controversial issues as abortion and homosexuality. It demonstrates how their work with the American Birth Control League, Planned Parenthood Federation, Kinsey Institute, Playboy magazine, and other organizations influenced the ACLU's agenda. Wheeler explores the ACLU's prominent role in nearly every major court decision related to sexuality while examining how the ACLU also promoted its agenda through grassroots activism, political action, and public education. She shows how the ACLU helped to collapse distinctions between public andprivate in ways that privileged access to sexual expression over protection from it. Thanks largely to the organization's work, abortion and birth control are legal, coerced sterilization is rare, sexually explicit material is readily available, and gay rights are becoming a reality. But this bookdoes not simply applaud the creation of a sex-saturated culture and the arming of citizens with sexual rights; it shows how hard-won rights for some often impinged upon freedoms held dear by others.
How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States
by Joanne MeyerowitzHow Sex Changed is a fascinating social, cultural, and medical history of transsexuality in the United States. Joanne Meyerowitz tells a powerful human story about people who had a deep and unshakable desire to transform their bodily sex. In the last century when many challenged the social categories and hierarchies of race, class, and gender, transsexuals questioned biological sex itself, the category that seemed most fundamental and fixed of all. From early twentieth-century sex experiments in Europe, to the saga of Christine Jorgensen, whose sex-change surgery made headlines in 1952, to today's growing transgender movement, Meyerowitz gives us the first serious history of transsexuality. She focuses on the stories of transsexual men and women themselves, as well as a large supporting cast of doctors, scientists, journalists, lawyers, judges, feminists, and gay liberationists, as they debated the big questions of medical ethics, nature versus nurture, self and society, and the scope of human rights. In this story of transsexuality, Meyerowitz shows how new definitions of sex circulated in popular culture, science, medicine, and the law, and she elucidates the tidal shifts in our social, moral, and medical beliefs over the twentieth century, away from sex as an evident biological certainty and toward an understanding of sex as something malleable and complex. How Sex Changed is an intimate history that illuminates the very changes that shape our understanding of sex, gender, and sexuality today.
How Shakespeare Put Politics on the Stage: Power and Succession in the History Plays
by Peter LakeA masterful, highly engaging analysis of how Shakespeare's plays intersected with the politics and culture of Elizabethan England With an ageing, childless monarch, lingering divisions due to the Reformation, and the threat of foreign enemies, Shakespeare's England was fraught with unparalleled anxiety and complicated problems. In this monumental work, Peter Lake reveals, more than any previous critic, the extent to which Shakespeare's plays speak to the depth and sophistication of Elizabethan political culture and the Elizabethan imagination. Lake reveals the complex ways in which Shakespeare's major plays engaged with the events of his day, particularly regarding the uncertain royal succession, theological and doctrinal debates, and virtue and virt#65533; in politics. Through his plays, Lake demonstrates, Shakespeare was boldly in conversation with his audience about a range of contemporary issues. This remarkable literary and historical analysis pulls the curtain back on what Shakespeare was really telling his audience and what his plays tell us today about the times in which they were written.
How Shall I Live My Life? On Liberating the Earth from Civilization
by Derrick JensenInterviews with Vine Deloria, Jesse Wolf Hardin, David Abram, Kathleen Dean Moore, Carolyn Raffensperger, George Draffan, Steven Wise, Jan Lundberg, Thomas Berry, David Edwards. In this collection of interviews, Derrick Jensen discusses the destructive dominant culture with ten people who have devoted their lives to undermining it. Whether it is Carolyn Raffensperger and her radical approach to public health, or Thomas Berry on perceiving the sacred; be it Kathleen Dean Moore reminding us that our bodies are made of mountains, rivers, and sunlight; or Vine Deloria asserting that our dreams tell us more about the world than science ever can, the activists and philosophers interviewed in How Shall I Live My Life? each bravely present a few of the endless forms that resistance can and must take. Hailed as the philosopher poet of the ecological movement, Derrick Jensen is the widely acclaimed author of Endgame, A Language Older Than Words, The Culture of Make Believe (a finalist for the 2003 J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize), and Walking on Water, among many others. Jensen's writing has been described as "breaking and mending the reader's heart" (Publishers Weekly). Author, teacher, activist, and leading voice of uncompromising dissent, he regularly stirs auditoriums across the country with revolutionary spirit. He lives in Crescent City, California.
How Shall We Know Christ At His Coming?
by Max HeindelHow Shall We Know Christ At His Coming? by Max Heindel is a profound and thought-provoking exploration of the esoteric and spiritual understanding of Christ’s Second Coming. As the founder of The Rosicrucian Fellowship and a leading figure in the early 20th-century esoteric movement, Heindel offers readers a unique perspective on this pivotal event in Christian eschatology, blending Christian mysticism with Rosicrucian teachings.In this insightful work, Heindel delves into the deeper, spiritual significance of Christ’s return, challenging conventional interpretations and urging readers to consider the event not merely as a future occurrence but as an ongoing, inner transformation. Heindel explores the idea that Christ’s Second Coming will manifest through the awakening of the Christ consciousness within individuals, leading to a collective spiritual evolution and a new era of peace and enlightenment.How Shall We Know Christ At His Coming? addresses key questions about the nature of Christ’s return, the signs that will accompany it, and how individuals can prepare themselves to recognize and embrace this profound event. Heindel emphasizes the importance of living a life of purity, selflessness, and spiritual awareness as essential steps toward developing the inner Christ consciousness.Heindel’s teachings draw on a rich tapestry of biblical references, esoteric symbolism, and spiritual insight, making this book a valuable resource for both Christian mystics and those interested in esoteric Christianity. His clear and engaging writing style makes complex spiritual concepts accessible, inviting readers to deepen their understanding of Christ’s role in the spiritual evolution of humanity.How Shall We Know Christ At His Coming? is an essential read for anyone seeking a deeper, more mystical understanding of Christ’s return and its implications for personal and collective spiritual growth. Max Heindel’s work continues to inspire and guide spiritual seekers, offering a timeless message of hope and transformation.
How Sherlock Pulled the Trick: Spiritualism and the Pseudoscientific Method
by Brian McCuskeyA masterful combination of literary study and author biography, How Sherlock Pulled the Trick guides us through the parallel careers of two inseparable men: Sherlock Holmes and his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Reconsidering Holmes in light of Doyle’s well-known belief in Victorian spiritualism, Brian McCuskey argues that the so-called scientific detective follows the same circular logic, along the same trail of questionable evidence, that led Doyle to the séance room.Holmes’s first case, A Study in Scarlet, was published in 1887, when natural scientists and religious apologists were hotly debating their differences in the London press. In this environment, Doyle became convinced that spiritualism, as a universal faith based on material evidence, resolved the conflict between science and religion. The character of Holmes, with his infallible logic, was Doyle’s good faith solution to the cultural conflicts of his day. Yet this solution has evolved into a new problem. Sherlock Holmes now authorizes the pseudoscience that corrupts our public sphere, defying logic, revising history, and promoting conspiracy theories. As this book demonstrates, wearing a deerstalker does not make you a mastermind—more likely, it marks you as a crackpot.Fascinating and highly readable, How Sherlock Pulled the Trick returns the iconic Holmes to his mystical origins.
How Sherlock Pulled the Trick: Spiritualism and the Pseudoscientific Method
by Brian McCuskeyA masterful combination of literary study and author biography, How Sherlock Pulled the Trick guides us through the parallel careers of two inseparable men: Sherlock Holmes and his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Reconsidering Holmes in light of Doyle’s well-known belief in Victorian spiritualism, Brian McCuskey argues that the so-called scientific detective follows the same circular logic, along the same trail of questionable evidence, that led Doyle to the séance room.Holmes’s first case, A Study in Scarlet, was published in 1887, when natural scientists and religious apologists were hotly debating their differences in the London press. In this environment, Doyle became convinced that spiritualism, as a universal faith based on material evidence, resolved the conflict between science and religion. The character of Holmes, with his infallible logic, was Doyle’s good faith solution to the cultural conflicts of his day. Yet this solution has evolved into a new problem. Sherlock Holmes now authorizes the pseudoscience that corrupts our public sphere, defying logic, revising history, and promoting conspiracy theories. As this book demonstrates, wearing a deerstalker does not make you a mastermind—more likely, it marks you as a crackpot.Fascinating and highly readable, How Sherlock Pulled the Trick returns the iconic Holmes to his mystical origins.
How Social Forces Impact the Economy (Routledge Advances in Social Economics)
by Steven PressmanSocial forces are important determinants of how people behave, how economies work at the macroeconomic level, and the effectiveness of economic policies. However, this dimension is generally overlooked in mainstream economics. How Social Forces Impact the Economy demonstrates that a broader conception of social economics provides for a better understanding of how economies work as a whole. This book argues that adopting a truly social approach to economics opens the door to studying how people form preferences, and how they learn by taking cues from others about how to behave and what to consume. Each chapter contributor works to highlight the breadth of new insights and possibilities that emerge from a fuller understanding of social economics. Part I focuses on microeconomics, bringing individual behaviors and individual entrepreneurs into a more social context. Part II focuses on macroeconomic topics, such as how money and quasi-monies (like Bitcoins) are social, how money developed as a social institution, and how social forces matter for economic development. Finally, Part III looks at the consequences of considering social factors when it comes to policy: environmental policy, industrial policy, and policies promoting greater equality. This book is invaluable reading to anyone interested in the relationship between economics and sociology, how social forces affect policy effectiveness, human behavior, and the overall economy.
How Social Movements Die
by Christian DavenportHow do social movements die? Some explanations highlight internal factors like factionalization, whereas others stress external factors like repression. Christian Davenport offers an alternative explanation where both factors interact. Drawing on organizational, as well as individual-level, explanations, Davenport argues that social movement death is the outgrowth of a coevolutionary dynamic whereby challengers, influenced by their understanding of what states will do to oppose them, attempt to recruit, motivate, calm, and prepare constituents while governments attempt to hinder all of these processes at the same time. Davenport employs a previously unavailable database that contains information on a black nationalist/secessionist organization, the Republic of New Africa, and the activities of authorities in the U. S. city of Detroit and state and federal authorities.
How Societies Are Born: Governance in West Central Africa before 1600
by Jan VansinaLike stars, societies are born, and this story deals with such a birth. It asks a fundamental and compelling question: How did societies first coalesce from the small foraging communities that had roamed in West Central Africa for many thousands of years?Jan Vansina continues a career-long effort to reconstruct the history of African societies before European contact in How Societies Are Born. In this complement to his previous study Paths in the Rainforests, Vansina employs a provocative combination of archaeology and historical linguistics to turn his scholarly focus to governance, studying the creation of relatively large societies extending beyond the foraging groups that characterized west central Africa from the beginning of human habitation to around 500 BCE, and the institutions that bridged their constituent local communities and made large-scale cooperation possible.The increasing reliance on cereal crops, iron tools, large herds of cattle, and overarching institutions such as corporate matrilineages and dispersed matriclans lead up to the developments treated in the second part of the book. From about 900 BCE until European contact, different societies chose different developmental paths. Interestingly, these proceeded well beyond environmental constraints and were characterized by "major differences in the subjects which enthralled people," whether these were cattle, initiations and social position, or "the splendors of sacralized leaders and the possibilities of participating in them."
How Societies Remember
by Paul ConnertonIn treating memory as a cultural rather than an individual faculty, this book provides an account of how bodily practices are transmitted in, and as, traditions. Most studies of memory as a cultural faculty focus on written, or inscribed transmissions of memories. Paul Connerton, on the other hand, concentrates on bodily (or incorporated) practices, and so questions the currently dominant idea that literary texts may be taken as a metaphor for social practices generally. The author argues that images of the past and recollected knowledge of the past are conveyed and sustained by ritual performances and that performative memory is bodily. Bodily social memory is an essential aspect of social memory, but it is an aspect which has until now been badly neglected. An innovative study, this work should be of interest to researchers into social, political and anthropological thought as well as to graduate and undergraduate students.