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Feng Shui and the City: The Private and Public Spaces of Chinese Geomancy
by Manuela Madeddu Xiaoqing ZhangFeng Shui and the City analyses the past and contemporary influences of traditional geomancy on Chinese built environments across three domains: domestic spaces, spaces of commercial development and the public realm. Using Lefebvre’s notion of absolute and abstract space—spaces of ‘symbolic existence’ and ‘everyday life’ versus spaces of domination and control, it tracks evolving attachment to, and use of, Feng Shui in Guangdong and Hong Kong. The book seeks to understand the changing role of Feng Shui in modern urban development and its regulation, and to question what constitutes authentic Feng Shui today.
Feng Shui: Teaching About Science and Pseudoscience (Science: Philosophy, History and Education)
by Michael R. MatthewsThis book provides a richly documented account of the historical, cultural, philosophical and practical dimensions of feng shui. It argues that where feng shui is entrenched educational systems have a responsibility to examine its claims, and that this examination provides opportunities for students to better learn about the key features of the nature of science, the demarcation of science and non-science, the characteristics of pseudoscience, and the engagement of science with culture and worldviews. The arguments presented for feng shui being a pseudoscience can be marshalled when considering a whole range of comparable beliefs and the educational benefit of their appraisal.Feng shui is a deeply-entrenched, three-millennia-old system of Asian beliefs and practices about nature, architecture, health, and divination that has garnered a growing presence outside of Asia. It is part of a comprehensive and ancient worldview built around belief in chi (qi) the putative universal energy or life-force that animates all existence, the cosmos, the solar system, the earth, and human bodies. Harmonious living requires building in accord with local chi streams; good health requires replenishment and manipulation of internal chi flow; and a beneficent afterlife is enhanced when buried in conformity with chi directions. Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on the proper manipulation of internal chi by acupuncture, tai-chi and qigong exercise, and herbal dietary supplements. Matthews has produced another tour de force that will repay close study by students, scientists, and all those concerned to understand science, culture, and the science/culture nexus.Harvey Siegel, Philosophy, University of Miami, USA With great erudition and even greater fluidity of style, Matthews introduces us to this now-world-wide belief system.Michael Ruse, Philosophy, Florida State University, USA The book is one of the best research works published on Feng Shui. Wang Youjun, Philosophy, Shanghai Normal University, China The history is fascinating. The analysis makes an important contribution to science literature.James Alcock, Psychology, York University, Canada This book provides an in-depth study of Feng Shui in different periods, considering its philosophical, historical and educational dimensions; especially from a perspective of the ‘demarcation problem’ between science and pseudoscience. Yao Dazhi, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Fentanyl, Inc: How Rogue Chemists are Creating the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Epidemic
by Ben WesthoffA deeply human story, Fentanyl, Inc. is the first deep-dive investigation of an illicit industry that has created a worldwide epidemic, ravaging communities and overwhelming and confounding government agencies that are challenged to combat it. "A whole new generation of chemicals is radically changing the recreational drug landscape," writes Ben Westhoff. "These are known as novel psychoactive substances (NPS) and they include replacements for known drugs like ecstasy, LSD, and marijuana, as well as heroin. They are synthetic, made in a laboratory... and they are much more potent than traditional drugs"--and, tragically, all-too-often lethal. Drugs like fentanyl, K2, and Spice--and those with arcane acronyms like 25I-NBOMe--were all originally conceived in legitimate laboratories for proper scientific and medicinal purposes. Their formulas were then hijacked and manufactured by rogue chemists, largely in China, who change their molecular structures to stay one step ahead of the law, often making the drugs' effects impossible to predict. Westhoff has infiltrated this shadowy world. He tracks down the little-known scientists who invented these drugs and inadvertently killed thousands, as well as a mysterious drug baron who turned the law upside down in his home country of New Zealand. Westhoff is the first journalist ever to infiltrate a Chinese fentanyl lab. Working undercover, he gains entry to a pair of synthetic drug operations from which fentanyls and other NPS emanate, providing startling and original reporting on how China's vast chemical industry operates, and how the Chinese government subsidizes it. He poignantly chronicles the lives of addicted users and dealers, families of victims, law enforcement officers, and underground drug awareness organizers in the U.S. and Europe. Together they represent the shocking and riveting full anatomy of a calamity we are just beginning to understand. From its depths, as Westhoff relates, are emerging new strategies that may provide essential long-term solutions to the drug crisis that has affected so many.
Fentanyl, Inc.: How Rogue Chemists Are Creating the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Epidemic
by Ben WesthoffA four-year investigation into the world of synthetic drugs?from black market factories to users & dealers to harm reduction activists—and what it revealed.A deeply human story, Fentanyl, Inc. is the first deep-dive investigation of a hazardous and illicit industry that has created a worldwide epidemic, ravaging communities and overwhelming and confounding government agencies that are challenged to combat it. “A whole new crop of chemicals is radically changing the recreational drug landscape,” writes Ben Westhoff. “These are known as Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) and they include replacements for known drugs like heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana. They are synthetic, made in a laboratory, and are much more potent than traditional drugs” —and all-too-often tragically lethal.Drugs like fentanyl, K2, and Spice?and those with arcane acronyms like 25i-NBOMe? were all originally conceived in legitimate laboratories for proper scientific and medicinal purposes. Their formulas were then hijacked and manufactured by rogue chemists, largely in China, who change their molecular structures to stay ahead of the law, making the drugs’ effects impossible to predict. Westhoff has infiltrated this shadowy world. He tracks down the little-known scientists who invented these drugs and inadvertently killed thousands, as well as a mysterious drug baron who turned the law upside down in his home country of New Zealand. Westhoff visits the shady factories in China from which these drugs emanate, providing startling and original reporting on how China’s vast chemical industry operates, and how the Chinese government subsidizes it. Poignantly, he chronicles the lives of addicted users and dealers, families of victims, law enforcement officers, and underground drug awareness organizers in the United States and Europe. Together they represent the shocking and riveting full anatomy of a calamity we are just beginning to understand. From its depths, as Westhoff relates, are emerging new strategies that may provide essential long-term solutions to the drug crisis that has affected so many.“Timely and agonizing. . . . An impressive work of investigative journalism.” —USA Today“Westhoff explores the many-tentacled world of illicit opioids, from the streets of East St. Louis to Chinese pharmaceutical companies, from music festivals deep in the Michigan woods to sanctioned ‘shooting up rooms’ in Barcelona, in this frank, insightful, and occasionally searing exposé. . . . Westhoff’s well-reported and researched work will likely open eyes, slow knee-jerk responses, and start much needed conversations.” —Publishers Weekly“Our 25 Favorite Books of 2019” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch“Best Books of 2019” —Buzzfeed“Best Nonfiction of 2019” —Kirkus Reviews“50 Best Books of 2019” —Daily Telegraph“Best Nonfiction Books of 2019” —Tyler Cowen“Best Books of 2019” —Yahoo Finance
Feral City: On Finding Liberation In Lockdown New York
by Jeremiah MossWhat happens when an entire social class abandons a metropolis? This genre-bending journey through lockdown New York offers an exhilarating, intimate look at a city returned to its rebellious spirit. The pandemic lockdown of 2020 launched an unprecedented urban experiment. Traffic disappeared from the streets. Times Square fell silent. And half a million residents fled the most crowded city in America. In this innovative and thrilling book, author and social critic Jeremiah Moss, hailed as “New York City’s career elegist” (New York Times), explores a city emptied of the dominant class—and their controlling influence. “Plagues have a disinhibiting effect,” Moss writes. “As the normal order is suspended, the repressive force of civilization lifts and our rules fall away, shifting the boundaries of society and psyche.” In public spaces made vibrant by New Yorkers left behind, Moss experienced an uncanny time warp. Biking through deserted Manhattan, he encountered the hustlers, eccentrics, and renegades who had been pressed into silence and invisibility by an oppressive, normative gentrification, now reemerging to reclaim the city. For one wild year the streets belonged to wandering nudists and wheelie bikers, mystical vagabonds and performance artists working to disrupt the status quo, passionate activists protesting for Black lives—along with the everyday New Yorkers who had been pushed to the margins for too long. Participating in a historic explosion of activism, resistance, and spontaneity, from queer BLM marches to exuberant outdoor dance parties, Moss discovered an intoxicating freedom. Without “hyper-normal” people to constrain it, New York became more creative, connected, humane, and joyful than it had been in years. Moss braids this captivating narrative with an account of his renewed sense of place as a transgender man, weaving together insights from psychoanalysis, literature, and queer theory. A kaleidoscopic vision of a city transformed, Feral City offers valuable insight into the way public space and the spaces inside us are controlled and can be set free.
The Feral Classroom (Routledge Revivals)
by James MacphersonFirst published in 1983, The Feral Classroom argues that the experience of schooling needs to be understood in terms of peer interaction in the classroom. Students’ interaction mediates the significance of the curriculum and teacher, and is, in its own right, a major agent of socialisation.The study reported in the book was conducted in an Australian state high school. It employs ethnographic techniques focused on students’ accounts of relations and activities with classmates. Concepts embodied in these accounts are interpreted through models of school and peer group as agents of socialisation.The volume fills several gaps. It is the first book to describe at length students’ accounts of classroom interaction; to give equal weight to boys’ and girls’ accounts; and to describe dominant students’ determination of the use of classroom norms and of the definition of performances. This book will appeal to a wide range of readers including, but not limited to, teachers, educational administrators, and sociologists.
Ferdinand Tönnies und die Soziologie- und Geistesgeschichte
by Cornelius Bickel Sebastian KlaukeDer Band beleuchtet das Schaffen von Ferdinand Tönnies in Bezug auf die geistes- und sozialgeschichtlichen Kontexte seiner Zeit. Tönnies erweist sich als über die Grenzen der Soziologie hinaus relevant.
Ferne Eliten: Die Unterrepräsentation von Ostdeutschen und Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund
by Raj Kollmorgen Lars Vogel Sabrina ZajakFern – so erscheinen vielen Menschen, insbesondere Ostdeutschen und Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund, die Eliten in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Die Beiträge des Bandes untersuchen aus sozialwissenschaftlicher Perspektive, ob dieser verbreitete Eindruck zutrifft und warum es ihn gibt. Die Analysen zeigen einerseits auf, in welchen Sektoren der Gesellschaft und warum Ostdeutsche und Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund unterrepräsentiert sind. Andererseits wird diskutiert, welche Folgen das für die politischen Einstellungen hat und wieso das ein gesellschaftliches Problem ist. Dafür wurden u.a. mehr als 2.800 Lebensläufe von Inhaber*innen wichtiger Führungspositionen erhoben sowie Interviews mit Elitenangehörigen und eine repräsentative Bevölkerungsbefragung durchgeführt. Den Band beschließen Handlungsempfehlungen für den weiteren gesellschaftspolitischen Umgang mit der Unterrepräsentation dieser, aber auch anderer unterprivilegierter Bevölkerungsgruppen.
Ferngesteuert?!: Hin zur digitalen Souveränität
by Anabel TernèsFerngesteuert oder digital souverän – wie leben Sie und wie möchten Sie leben? Das Buch Ferngesteuert?! Hin zur digitalen Souveränität entschlüsselt mit spannenden und lebendigen Beispielgeschichten die Hintergründe für unsere Verhaltensweisen im digitalen Alltag. Dieses Buch zeigt uns Möglichkeiten auf, wie wir aus einem bequemen digitalen Ferngesteuert-sein in unserem Alltag ausbrechen können. Dazu vermittelt es, wie wir zu mehr Lebensfreude finden, unserem Leben mehr Sinn geben und unsere Zukunft wieder selbst in die Hand nehmen können. Last but not least macht es Lust darauf, wieder selbst zu entscheiden - das eigene Leben in die Hand zu nehmen, Zukunft als Chance zur eigenverantwortlichen Selbstverwirklichung zu sehen und die Vorteile der Digitalisierung souverän im Leben umzusetzen. Zur Autorin: Anabel Ternès ist eine der führenden Köpfe für Digitalisierungsthemen in Deutschland. Als Digitalunternehmerin, Zukunftsexpertin, Autorin, Verwaltungsrätin und Professorin mit einem großen Engagement für Kinderrechte, Bildung und gesunde werteorientierte Digitalisierung sieht und bewegt Anabel Ternès von Hattburg die großen Herausforderungen, die gelöst werden müssen, um unsere Demokratie und soziale Marktwirtschaft in eine lebenswerte Zukunft für alle zu führen.
Fernstudium in der beruflichen Erhaltungsphase: Ziele von berufstätigen Fernstudentinnen der Generation X (BestMasters)
by Jana RotherDas vorliegende Buch ist mit der Untersuchung der Ziele berufstätiger Fernstudentinnen der Generation X bei der Entscheidung für ein Hochschulstudium einem Thema von hoher Relevanz gewidmet. Die Zielgruppe steht in vielen Fällen bereits unter der Mehrfachbelastung von Beruf und Kindererziehung oder Pflege innerhalb der Familie. Zudem kann das Streben nach einem Bildungsabschluss in der beruflichen Erhaltungsphase mit normativen Erwartungen kollidieren, da dies vom optimalen beruflichen Zeitplan abweicht und aus biologischer und gesellschaftlicher Sicht eine erhöhte Anstrengung erfordert. Das Ziel der interdisziplinären und aktuellen Analyse besteht in der Zusammenstellung von Motivatoren, Bedürfnissen und beruflichen Zielen sowie der Ableitung von Handlungsansätzen zur Förderung der beruflichen Weiterbildung von berufstätigen Frauen der Generation X im Rahmen von Demografiemanagement. Dieses wurde über eine qualitative Interviewstudie mit Psychologie-Fernstudentinnen umgesetzt.
Fernweh und Reiselust - Streifzüge durch die Tourismuspsychologie
by Hans-Peter Herrmann Pauline WetzelDieses Sachbuch befasst sich auf unterhaltsame Weise mit der psychologischen Seite des Reisens. Wie der Buchtitel bereits erahnen lässt, erfährt der Leser in 40 kurzen Kapiteln wesentliche Entscheidungs- und Handlungsweisen. Diese werden dem Leser eindrücklich und unterhaltsam mittels psychologischer Erklärungen nahegebracht. Das Sachbuch umspannt einen weiten Themenbogen: von der Werbebegegnung und Entstehung von Reisewünschen über Reiseentscheidungsprobleme bis hin zum Phänomen Urlaubsstress. Auch allseits interessante Themen wie Zeiterleben, Flugangst, Jetlag, Reiseverhalten oder Urlaubsglück fehlen nicht bei den Streifzügen durch die Tourismuspsychologie. Das Sachbuch richtet sich an alle Leser, die sich für die psychologischen Sachverhalte entlang der gesamten Reisekette interessieren und mehr über ihr eigenes Reiseverhalten erfahren möchten. Es soll dem interessierten Leser helfen, seine eigenen Reiseentscheidungen besser zu verstehen und Urlaubserfahrungen sinnhafter reflektieren zu können. Die Beschreibungen sind mit zahlreichen aktuellen Fakten und Hintergrundinformationen versehen und vermitteln hierdurch auch prägnanten Einblick in das touristische System. Umrahmt werden die Texte durch thematisch passende Zeichnungen von Pauline Wetzel.
Ferry Services in Europe (Routledge Revivals)
by Funda YercanPublished in 1999, this work is mainly related to ferry services and operations in a number of marketplaces in Europe. Ferry services in the the Atlantic Arc to the West, the Baltic Sea to the North and the Eastern Mediterranean to the Southeast of Europe are reviewed. Ferry markets in the Baltic area and the Mediterranean have been crucial markets in particular becaus of their continuing development - mostly after the post-communism changes in the East European countries and the civil war in the former Yugoslavia. Developments in the Atlantic Arc and the effects of the Channel Tunnel on the ferry market in that area are also explained and conclusions and comment offered.
Ferry Tales: Mobility, Place, and Time on Canada's West Coast
by Phillip VanniniThe purpose of this rich and innovatively presented ethnography is to explore mobility, sense of place and time on the British Columbia coast. On the basis of almost 400 interviews with ferry passengers and over 250 ferry journeys, the author narrates and reflects on the performance of travel and on the consequences of ferry-dependence on island and coastal communities. Ferry Tales inaugurates a new series entitled Innovative Ethnographies for Routledge (innovativeethnographies.net). The purpose of this hypermedia book series is to use digital technologies to capture a richer, multimodal view of social life than was otherwise done in the classic, print-based tradition of ethnography, while maintaining the traditional strengths of classic, ethnographic analysis. Visit the book's website at ferrytales.innovativeethnographies.net
Fertile Bonds: Bedouin Class, Kinship, and Gender in the Bekaa Valley
by Suzanne E. Joseph"Provides rich new ethnographic material on a little-known population, the Bedouin of the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. It positions such marginal populations in the broader theoretical context of modernization and health and demographic transitions."--Allan G. Hill, Harvard University With an average of over nine children per family, older cohorts of Bedouin in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon have one of the highest fertility rates in the world. Many married couples in this pastoral community are close relatives--a socially advantageous practice that reflects the deep value Bedouins place on kinship. To outsiders, such family norms can seem disturbing, even premodern. They attract assumptions of Arab "backwardness," poverty, and sexism. Remarkably, Fertile Bonds flips these stereotypes. Anthropological demographer Suzanne Joseph shows that in this particular group, prolific birth rates coincide with moderate death rates and high levels of nutrition. Despite broader class differences between Bedouins and peasants, members of Bekaa Bedouin society rely heavily on kinship ties, sharing, and reciprocity and experience a high degree of social and demographic equality. This story, unfamiliar to many, is one that is fading as traditional nomadic livelihoods give way to encapsulation within the state. With the help of this surprising, nuanced study--one of the first of its kind in the Middle East--knowledge of such marginalized pastoral groups will not vanish with the disappearance of their way of life. Joseph’s book expands our understanding of peoples far removed from consolidated government control and provides a broad analytical lens through which to examine demographic divides across the globe. .
Fertility Control in a Risk Society
by Zakir Husain Mousumi DuttaThis book analyses the reasons for relying on behavioural contraception methods among urban 'elites' in India and examines their efficacy in controlling fertility. It also traces variations in contraception choice over the reproductive cycle of women. Although researchers and policy makers generally equate reliance on behavioural contraceptive methods with low levels of education and awareness and lack of desire to control fertility, this perception has been questioned in recent years. The authors' analysis of the first three rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data in India reveals that behavioural contraceptive methods are popular in eastern India. Moreover, it is urban educated women who rely on behavioural methods, and are apparently able to regulate fertility quite effectively with such methods. NFHS data, however, has some limitations and this motivates the authors to explore birth control methods through primary surveys of currently married graduate women in Kolkata. The use of behavioural contraception methods is a little researched area globally and this is the first book focusing on the topic in India.
Fertility, Health and Lone Parenting: European Contexts
by Fabienne Portier-Le CocqIn Europe, the percentage of lone-parent families has risen from 14% to 19% between 1996 and 2012. Only in Greece and Finland did the rates fall, while in Denmark and the Republic of Ireland the rise has reached or exceeded 10 percent. As of 2017, there are 2.9 million lone parents with dependent children in the UK, and nine out of ten lone parents are women. Sadly, lone parents are known to experience considerable social, financial, and health problems. Fertility, Health and Lone Parenting examines the way in which lone parents live their lives, and how it impacts their health and well-being. Topics explored in these interdisciplinary contributions include lifestyle, nutrition, and the mental health of both parents and children. Unique empirical case studies within a European context help to expand the reader’s understanding, whilst also drawing comparisons between the impacts of lone parenting on young mothers, fathers and their children. A timely volume, this book will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in subjects such as Sociology of the Family, Social Policy, Social Work, Gender Studies and Family Policy.
Fertility of Immigrants
by Nadja MilewskiThis book examines fertility patterns of post-war labor migrants and their descendants in Germany. It includes an introduction to the post-war migration history of Germany and a thorough review of the international literature on fertility of migrants and cultural sub-groups. The author uses data from the German Socio-economic Panel Study and applies event-history techniques to test a set of competing hypotheses derived from the literature. The analysis finds evidence for the effects of adaptation, socialization and composition, as well as for an interrelation of events. It does not however find evidence for a disruptive influence of migration on childbearing behavior. The book shows the advantages of a longitudinal research design over the conventional cross-sectional approach and sets a new standard for research on the fertility of international migrants and their descendants in western European receiving societies.
The Fertility Transition in Iran
by Meimanat Hosseini-Chavoshi Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi Peter McdonaldConfounding all conventional wisdom, the fertility rate in the Islamic Republic of Iran fell from around 7.0 births per woman in the early 1980s to 1.9 births per woman in 2006. That this, the largest and fastest fall in fertility ever recorded, should have occurred in one of the world's few Islamic Republics demands explanation. This book, based upon a decade of research is the first to attempt such an explanation. The book documents the progress of the fertility decline and displays its association with social and economic characteristics. It addresses an explanation of the phenomenal fall of fertility in this Islamic context by considering the relevance of standard theories of fertility transition. The book is rich in data as well as the application of different demographic methods to interpret the data. All the available national demographic data are used in addition to two major surveys conducted by the authors. Demographic description is preceded by a socio-political history of Iran in recent decades, providing a context for the demographic changes. The authors conclude with their views on the importance of specific socio-economic and political changes to the demographic transition. Their concluding arguments suggest continued low fertility in Iran. The book is recommended to not only demographers, social scientists, and gender specialists, but also to policy makers and those who are interested in social and demographic changes in Iran and other Islamic countries in the Middle East. It is also a useful reference for demography students and researchers who are interested in applying fertility theories in designing surveys and analysing data.
Fertility Transitions, Family Structure, And Population Policy
by Calvin GoldscheiderFocuses on fertility and family transitions in selected Third World countries, exploring critical aspects of the relationship between population and development. The essays examine population processes as they unfold and develop over time, highlighting the need to go beyond economic explanations and identifying the priorities among social structura
Festival Cultures: Mapping New Fields in the Arts and Social Sciences
by Maria Nita Jeremy H. KidwellThis book brings together interdisciplinary research from the fields of Anthropology, Sociology, Archaeology, Art, History and Religious Studies, showing the necessity of a transdisciplinary and diachronic approach to examine the last half-century of modern arts and performance festivals. The volume focuses on new theoretical and methodological approaches for the examination of festivals and festival cultures, both the Burning Man festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert and burner culture in Europe. The editors argue that festival cultures are becoming values-inflected global forms of travel, dwelling, festivity, communication, and social organisation that are transforming contemporary cultures and have significant political capital.
Festivalisation of Urban Spaces
by Waldemar CudnyThis is a multi-disciplinary scientific monograph referring to urban geography, urban regions management, event studies, tourism geography, cultural anthropology and sociology. It covers issues which are typically related to the most popular type of events: festivals. This book studies the origins, history, and the main factors of festival development, as well as the concept of a festival in the context of various scientific disciplines. It presents the existing festival typologies as well as the author's own comprehensive typology. The theoretical part concerns the basic research methods and approaches used in the analysis of these events, as well as their impacts on the urban space in the physical (festival facilities), social (a place where people may pursue their interests, meet with family and friends) and cultural aspect. The economic aspect of festivals (generating jobs and income from tourism, using festivals for city branding, etc. ) is also discussed. The book presents practical examples in sub-chapters, references to literature (further reading) and the case study of the influence of festivals on urban space management and urban development, using the example of Å ódź - a Polish post-socialist city. It may also be treated as a supplementary course book for students of urban geography, urban regions management, tourism, event management and, to a certain extent, anthropology of culture and sociology.
Festivals and Heritage in Latin America: Interdisciplinary Dialogues on Culture, Identity and Tourism (The Latin American Studies Book Series)
by Fabiana Lopes da Cunha Jorge RabassaThis book explores a variety of heritage dialogues, from global and specific approaches, combining different views, perceptions and senses. Following the first volume on Latin American Heritage as published in this book series in 2019, this new volume focuses on music, dance and railway heritage, considering artistic, archaeological, natural, ethnological and industrial aspects. It is divided into four thematic sections – 1) parties and cultural heritage, 2) railway heritage and museums, 3) archaeological heritage and tourism, and 4) cultural landscape and tourism – and presents chapters on a diverse range of topics, from samba and cultural identities in Rio de Janeiro and London to the "musealization" of railway assets, the history of Antarctic archaeology, the value of scenic landscapes and urban memory in Spain, and the cultural landscape of Brazil.This unique book explores a variety of heritage dialogues, pursuing global and specific approaches, and combining different views, perceptions and senses, including video fragments.
Festivals and the Cultural Public Sphere (Routledge Advances in Sociology)
by Gerard Delanty Liana Giorgi Monica SassatelliFestivals and the Cultural Public Sphere provides the first major social scientific study of these festivals in the wake of their explosion in popularity over the past decade. It explores the cultural significance of contemporary arts festivals from their location within the cultural public sphere, examining them as sites for contestation and democratic debate, and also identifying them as examples of a particular aesthetic cosmopolitanism. The book approaches contemporary festivals as relatively autonomous social texts that need interpretation and contextualisation. This perspective, combined with a diversified set of theoretical approaches and research methods, and guided by a common thematic rationale, places the volume squarely within some of the most debated topics in current social sciences. Furthermore, the multifaceted nature of festivals allows for unusual but useful connections to be made across several fields of social inquiry. This timely edited collection brings together contributions from key figures across the social sciences, and proves to be valuable reading for undergraduate students, postgraduates, and professionals working within the areas of contemporary social theory, cultural theory, and visual culture.
Festivals and Values: Music, Community Engagement and Organisational Symbolism (Culture in Policy Making: The Symbolic Universes of Social Action)
by Waldemar Kuligowski Marcin PoprawskiThis is an original book, covering all the past areas of research anyone would need to know about festivals and ‘event-based culture’. It is based on academic research but written in a way relevant for cultural professionals – uniquely explaining the cultural power of festivals, and with original empirical research, the realities of organisation and management, and social and economic value. Dr Jonathan Vickery, Reader in Cultural Policy Studies and Director: Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies, Univeristy of Warwick.This book discusses music festivals in the context of the specific values they convey. Today, music festivals are a permanent feature of national, regional and local cultural policies, a valuable asset in the tourism industry and a significant source of income for an industry that has been adversely affected by the steady decline in physical sales of music. For the audience, on the other hand, it is an opportunity to escape from everyday life, multi-sensory contact with art, an activity that stands for “full-body participation”– a cultural phenomenon that drags people out of their homes like no other. There is one common denominator linking the above-mentioned features of contemporary music festivals – namely the world of values. This is evident from the non-accidental locations, festivals spaces’ design, planning and the line-ups created consciously, with great care. The organisers’ “missions”, logos, and other symbolic organisational artefacts communicate specific values. These values are explicitly mentioned by artists and audiences: they can be easily identified in online forums and media reports; participant behaviour, festival “rituals” and additional festival programs are shaped on the basis of values, and cooperation is built between the festival and the local community. As the reader will quickly realize, numbers and statistics sit alongside descriptions and quotations in this book, and the organisers’ statements are accompanied by the opinions of academics, but above all the festival audience is given a voice – both through quotations and their drawings. This voice is by no means uniform, as it turned out that research into values was often transformed into a pretext for spinning tales about one’s life situation, one’s political preferences, and one’s understanding of freedom and responsibility. Memories were mixed with declarations, joy with regret, curses with dreams, prose with poetry. Thomas Pettitt was not wrong in noting that “Social history has learnt to appreciate festival as a valuable window on society and its structures”. The authors have tried to open all the windows available. Students and researchers in the fields of cultural anthropology, social psychology, folklore studies, comparative religion, sociology of culture, cultural policy, cultural history, and cultural management will find this book highly interesting.
The Festivals of Nepal (Routledge Revivals)
by Mary M. AndersonFirst Published in 1971, The Festivals of Nepal describes the most important festivals from the country, which have been arranged according to the ancient Nepalese calendar, beginning with the New Year in mid-April. The author provides, moreover, a brief introductory sketch of Nepalese geography, history, and religion, to give background to what follows.When Mary Anderson began her five year residence in Kathmandu as the wife of a diplomat, she attended the frequent Nepalese festivals up and down the Valley because they were mysterious, colourful and great fun. But soon she became more deeply absorbed in the meaning of these ancient activities as she grew quickly aware that to the Nepalese themselves the ancient processions and rituals were of great importance. Somewhere, almost every day, there seems to be in Nepal a festival of some kind, but now that this hitherto secret land has been opened up to tourists and foreign influences, much of this historic pageantry may well be lost. The modernization of Nepalese society is certain to have its effects, but when these artless celebrations become the goal of spectators from outside, they will also lose its spontaneity. Mary Anderson was determined to record as many of them as she could, explaining their mythological, religious and historical backgrounds and relating some of the wealth of legends and folk tales that surround them. This is an interesting read for students of sociology of culture, South Asian studies, South Asian religion and culture and Hindu religion.