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Cuba: Religion, Social Capital, and Development
by Adrian H. HearnWhen Cuba's centralized system for providing basic social services began to erode in the early 1990s, Christian and Afro-Cuban religious groups took on new social and political responsibilities. They began to work openly with state institutions on projects such as the promotion of Afro-Cuban heritage to encourage tourism, and community welfare initiatives to confront drug use, prostitution, and housing decay. In this rich ethnography, the anthropologist Adrian H. Hearn provides a detailed, on-the-ground analysis of how the Cuban state and local religious groups collaborate on community development projects and work with the many foreign development agencies operating in Cuba. Hearn argues that the growing number of collaborations between state and non-state actors has begun to consolidate the foundations of a civil society in Cuba. While conducting research, Hearn lived for one year each in two Santera temple-houses: one located in Old Havana and the other in Santiago de Cuba. During those stays he conducted numerous interviews: with the historian of Havana and the conservationist of Santiago de Cuba (officials roughly equivalent to mayors in the United States), acclaimed writers, influential leaders of Afro-Cuban religions, and many citizens involved in community development initiatives. Hearn draws on those interviews, his participant observation in the temple-houses, case studies, and archival research to convey the daily life experiences and motivations of religious practitioners, development workers, and politicians. Using the concept of social capital, he explains the state's desire to incorporate tightly knit religious groups into its community development projects, and he illuminates a fundamental challenge facing Cuba's religious communities: how to maintain their spiritual integrity and internal solidarity while participating in state-directed projects.
Cuba -- Going Back
by Tony MendozaImagine being unable to return to your homeland for thirty-six years. What would you do if you finally got a chance to go back? In 1996, after travel restrictions between the United States and Cuba were relaxed, Cuban exile Tony Mendoza answered that question. Taking his cameras, notebooks, and an unquenchable curiosity, he returned for his first visit to Cuba since the summer of 1960, when he emigrated with his family at age eighteen. In this book he presents over eighty evocative photographs accompanied by a beautifully written text that mingles the voices of many Cubans with his own to offer a compelling portrait of a resilient people awaiting the inevitable passing of the socialist system that has failed them. His photographs and interviews bear striking witness to the hardships and inequalities that exist in this workers#146; "paradise," where the daily struggle to make ends meet on an average income of eight dollars a month has created a longing for change even in formerly ardent revolutionaries. At the same time, Cuba#151;Going Back is an eloquent record of a personal journey back in time and memory that will resonate with viewers and readers both within and beyond the Cuban American community. It belongs on the shelves of anyone who values excellent photography and well-crafted prose.
Cuban Americans (Hispanic Americans: Major Minority)
by Frank DepietroIn the United States, people from all different backgrounds live together. More than one in eight people in the United States are Hispanic--but they come from different lands and backgrounds. Many Latino Americans can trace their roots to the island of Cuba. In the second half of the twentieth century, Cubans poured into the United States, and today there are more than one million Cuban Americans. They have built successful communities, families, and businesses--and kept their own culture alive at the same time. Unfortunately, Cuban Americans have also run into hardship and prejudice. Discover Cuban Americans' struggles and their triumphs. Learn about the events that drove so many Cubans to America's shores. Find out how Cuban Americans make America stronger.
The Cuban Americans
by Miguel Gonzalez-PandoThis book focuses on the waves of Cuban refugees who have come to the United States since Fidel Castro rose to power in 1959. The author explores America's shifting response to the Cuban emigres and the ways immigration policy reflects U.S.-Soviet relations. Cuban American culture, including art, journalism, and film, are explored. The text is enriched by frequent quotes from the author's interviews with political and cultural figures in the Cuban American community.
Cuban Literature in the Age of Black Insurrection: Manzano, Plácido, and Afro-Latino Religion (Caribbean Studies Series)
by Matthew PettwayJuan Francisco Manzano and Gabriel de la Concepción Valdés (Plácido) were perhaps the most important and innovative Cuban writers of African descent during the Spanish colonial era. Both nineteenth-century authors used Catholicism as a symbolic language for African-inspired spirituality. Likewise, Plácido and Manzano subverted the popular imagery of neoclassicism and Romanticism in order to envision black freedom in the tradition of the Haitian Revolution. Plácido and Manzano envisioned emancipation through the lens of African spirituality, a transformative moment in the history of Cuban letters. Matthew Pettway examines how the portrayal of African ideas of spirit and cosmos in otherwise conventional texts recur throughout early Cuban literature and became the basis for Manzano and Plácido’s antislavery philosophy. The portrayal of African-Atlantic religious ideas spurned the elite rationale that literature ought to be a barometer of highbrow cultural progress. Cuban debates about freedom and selfhood were never the exclusive domain of the white Creole elite. Pettway’s emphasis on African-inspired spirituality as a source of knowledge and a means to sacred authority for black Cuban writers deepens our understanding of Manzano and Plácido not as mere imitators but as aesthetic and political pioneers. As Pettway suggests, black Latin American authors did not abandon their African religious heritage to assimilate wholesale to the Catholic Church. By recognizing the wisdom of African ancestors, they procured power in the struggle for black liberation.
Cuban Women and Salsa
by Delia PoeySalsa is both an American and transnational phenomenon, however women in salsa have been neglected. To explore how female singers negotiate issues of gender, race, and nation through their performances, Poey engages with the ways they problematize the idea of the nation and facilitate their musical performances' movement across multiple borders.
Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace
by Nikil SavalYou mean this place we go to five days a week has a history? Cubed reveals the unexplored yet surprising story of the places where most of the world's work—our work—gets done. From "Bartleby the Scrivener" to The Office, from the steno pool to the open-plan cubicle farm, Cubed is a fascinating, often funny, and sometimes disturbing anatomy of the white-collar world and how it came to be the way it is—and what it might become.<P> In the mid-nineteenth century clerks worked in small, dank spaces called “counting-houses.” These were all-male enclaves, where work was just paperwork. Most Americans considered clerks to be questionable dandies, who didn’t do “real work.” But the joke was on them: as the great historical shifts from agricultural to industrial economies took place, and then from industrial to information economies, the organization of the workplace evolved along with them—and the clerks took over. Offices became rationalized, designed for both greater efficiency in the accomplishments of clerical work and the enhancement of worker productivity. Women entered the office by the millions, and revolutionized the social world from within. Skyscrapers filled with office space came to tower over cities everywhere. Cubed opens our eyes to what is a truly "secret history" of changes so obvious and ubiquitous that we've hardly noticed them. From the wood-paneled executive suite to the advent of the cubicles where 60% of Americans now work (and 93% of them dislike it) to a not-too-distant future where we might work anywhere at any time (and perhaps all the time), Cubed excavates from popular books, movies, comic strips (Dilbert!), and a vast amount of management literature and business history, the reasons why our workplaces are the way they are—and how they might be better.
Cuckoo Land: The Cuckooing Risk Environment (Drugs, Crime and Society)
by Jack SpicerDrawing on rich qualitative data, this book presents a novel way of understanding the drug market-related harm of ‘cuckooing’, providing a theoretically informed account of this increasingly high-profile area.Applying the framework of the ‘risk environment’, the book examines why people become cuckooed, how it is responded to and how this exploitative practice is socially produced. In doing so, a diverse range of environments and features relevant to cuckooing are analysed, including the role of housing, political economy, drug policy, policing and social exclusion. By interrogating how these constrain and enable the actions of people who are affected, the book develops a critical analysis that recognises the complexity of cuckooing while eschewing superficial explanations of why it occurs. Resisting simplistic solutions, it also considers what an enabling environment capable of reducing the harms of this exploitative practice might look like.Cuckoo Land will be of interest to academic researchers in the fields of criminology, victimology, social work and drugs. It will also be essential reading for policymakers and practitioners working on the issue of cuckooing.
Cuenta contigo: No busques fuera, las soluciones están en ti
by Patricia RamírezPatricia Ramírez nos ofrece 20 propuestas para dejar de depender de los demás, tomar las riendas de nuestra propia vida y alcanzar así nuestros objetivos personales, profesionales y deportivos. Porque las soluciones a los propios problemas están mucho más cerca de lo que pensábamos: en nuestro propio interior. «Hay una fuerza motriz más poderosa que el vapor, la electricidad y la energía atómica: la voluntad.»Albert Einstein ¿En qué medida nuestro éxito personal, profesional y deportivo depende de nosotros? ¿Son los demás los que nos boicotean, estresan e impiden que alcancemos nuestros sueños? En Cuenta contigo Patricia Ramírez nos propone empezar a trabajar desde el propio interior para lograr nuestros propósitos. Si para empezar a hacer ejercicio necesitamos la compañía de un amigo, si para ser titular en nuestro equipo solo dependemos de la decisión del entrenador, o si para mejorar nuestro inglés esperamos que sea la empresa la que se encargue de nuestra formación, tal vez nunca logremos nuestros propósitos. ¿Por qué? Porque en estos tres casos, parece que el éxito dependerá de lo que los demás hagan por nosotros. Y esto es cómodo, pero poco eficaz. Patricia Ramírez nos propone que aprendamos a responsabilizarnos de nuestros objetivos, emociones y pensamientos; en definitiva, de las cosas que nos ocurren en la vida. Y nos ofrece herramientas prácticas para ese aprendizaje como la sorprendente terapia del caballo-secretaria o la de Teresa de Calcuta. Reseñas:«Leer a Patricia es aprender continuamente. La persona está antes que el deportista, y la gestión de todo lo emocional y el interior de las personas y deportistas son clave. El libro, tremendamente interesante; y ella, un referente para mí.»Xavier Budó, entrenador de tenis «Transitamos temporalmente portando un equipaje cargado de creencias e ideas no siempre idóneas para afrontar el viaje de la vida. En esta obra, Patricia Ramírez nos da claves para replantear y preguntar adecuadamente si aquello que nos acompaña en nuestro trayecto vital es lo más acertado o no. Obra clara, directa y tremendamente inspiradora.»Andoni Luis Aduriz, chef del restaurante Mugaritz «Patricia transmite fácil lo difícil, aporta soluciones a los problemas, y lo mejor de todo es que lo hace con una naturalidad tan cercana que te engancha desde el primer momento. ¡Sin lugar a dudas se ha convertido en una referente en nuestro deporte!»Alex Corretja, ex tenista «Nadie como Patricia Ramírez para ayudarte a darla mejor versión de ti mismo/a. Con sus "momentos libreta" entrenarás con Patri como si fueras un/a deportista de alta competición... en tu propia vida. Vive el presente (no temerariamente) y haz posible el futuro que quieres.»Juan Carlos Cubeiro, Head of Talent de ManpowerGroupy CEO de Right Management
Cuenta contigo: No busques fuera, las soluciones están en ti
by Patricia RamírezPatricia Ramírez nos ofrece 20 propuestas para dejar de depender de los demás, tomar las riendas de nuestra propia vida y alcanzar así nuestros objetivos personales, profesionales y deportivos. Porque las soluciones a los propios problemas están mucho más cerca de lo que pensábamos: en nuestro propio interior. «Hay una fuerza motriz más poderosa que el vapor, la electricidad y la energía atómica: la voluntad.»Albert Einstein ¿En qué medida nuestro éxito personal, profesional y deportivo depende de nosotros? ¿Son los demás los que nos boicotean, estresan e impiden que alcancemos nuestros sueños? En Cuenta contigo Patricia Ramírez nos propone empezar a trabajar desde el propio interior para lograr nuestros propósitos. Si para empezar a hacer ejercicio necesitamos la compañía de un amigo, si para ser titular en nuestro equipo solo dependemos de la decisión del entrenador, o si para mejorar nuestro inglés esperamos que sea la empresa la que se encargue de nuestra formación, tal vez nunca logremos nuestros propósitos. ¿Por qué? Porque en estos tres casos, parece que el éxito dependerá de lo que los demás hagan por nosotros. Y esto es cómodo, pero poco eficaz. Patricia Ramírez nos propone que aprendamos a responsabilizarnos de nuestros objetivos, emociones y pensamientos; en definitiva, de las cosas que nos ocurren en la vida. Y nos ofrece herramientas prácticas para ese aprendizaje como la sorprendente terapia del caballo-secretaria o la de Teresa de Calcuta. Reseñas: «Leer a Patricia es aprender continuamente. La persona está antes que el deportista, y la gestión de todo lo emocional y el interior de las personas y deportistas son clave. El libro, tremendamente interesante; y ella, un referente para mí.»Xavier Budó, entrenador de tenis «Transitamos temporalmente portando un equipaje cargado de creencias e ideas no siempre idóneas para afrontar el viaje de la vida. En esta obra, Patricia Ramírez nos da claves para replantear y preguntar adecuadamente si aquello que nos acompaña en nuestro trayecto vital es lo más acertado o no. Obra clara, directa y tremendamente inspiradora.»Andoni Luis Aduriz, chef del restaurante Mugaritz «Patricia transmite fácil lo difícil, aporta soluciones a los problemas, y lo mejor de todo es que lo hace con una naturalidad tan cercana que te engancha desde el primer momento. ¡Sin lugar a dudas se ha convertido en una referente en nuestro deporte!»Alex Corretja, ex tenista «Nadie como Patricia Ramírez para ayudarte a darla mejor versión de ti mismo/a. Con sus "momentos libreta" entrenarás con Patri como si fueras un/a deportista de alta competición... en tu propia vida. Vive el presente (no temerariamente) y haz posible el futuro que quieres.»Juan Carlos Cubeiro, Head of Talent de ManpowerGroup y CEO de Right Management
Cuenta contigo (edición especial ilustrada)
by Patricia Ramírez¿En qué medida el éxito personal, profesional y deportivo depende de nosotros? ¿Son los demás los que nos boicotean, estresan e impiden que alcancemos nuestros sueños? En Cuenta contigo Patricia Ramírez nos propone empezar a trabajar desde el propio interior para lograr nuestros propósitos. Si para hacer ejercicio necesitamos la compañía de un amigo, si para ser titular en un equipo solo dependemos de la decisión del entrenador, o si para mejorar en inglés esperamos que sea la empresa la que se encargue de formarnos, tal vez nunca alcancemos nuestros propósitos. ¿Por qué? Porque que el éxito dependa de lo que los demás hagan por nosotros es cómodo pero poco eficaz. Patricia Ramírez nos propone que aprendamos a responsabilizarnos de nuestros objetivos, emociones y pensamientos; en definitiva, de las cosas que nos ocurren en la vida. Y nos ofrece herramientas prácticas, como la sorprendente terapia del caballo-secretaria o la de Teresa de Calcuta. Veinte propuestas para enseñarnos a tomar las riendas y descubrir que las soluciones a los problemas están mucho más cerca de lo que pensábamos: en nuestro propio interior. «Transitamos temporalmente portando un equipaje cargado de creencias e ideas no siempre idóneas para afrontar el viaje de la vida. En esta obra, Patricia Ramírez nos da claves para replantear y preguntar si aquello que nos acompaña en nuestro trayecto vital es lo más acertado o no. Obra clara, directa y tremendamente inspiradora». ANDONI LUIS ADURIZ, chef del restaurante Mugaritz «Patricia transmite de manera fácil lo difícil, aporta soluciones a los problemas, y lo mejor es que lo hace con tanta naturalidad que te engancha desde el primer momento. ¡Sin duda se ha convertido en un referente en nuestro deporte!». ÀLEX CORRETJA, extenista «Nadie como Patricia Ramírez para ayudarte a que des la mejor versión de ti mism@. Con sus "momentos libreta" entrenarás con Patri como si fueras un/a deportista de alta competición... en tu propia vida. Vive el presente (no temerariamente) y haz posible el futuro que quieres.» JUAN CARLOS CUBEIRO, economista, presidente de About my Brain Europe, socio director de IDEO y consejero de Human Age Institute
Cues: Master the Secret Language of Charismatic Communication
by Vanessa Van EdwardsFor anyone who wants to be heard at work, earn that overdue promotion, or win more clients, deals, and projects, the bestselling author of Captivate, Vanessa Van Edwards, shares her advanced guide to improving professional relationships through the power of cues.What makes someone charismatic? Why do some captivate a room, while others have trouble managing a small meeting? What makes some ideas spread, while other good ones fall by the wayside? If you have ever been interrupted in meetings, overlooked for career opportunities or had your ideas ignored, your cues may be the problem – and the solution. Cues – the tiny signals we send to others 24/7 through our body language, facial expressions, word choice, and vocal inflection – have a massive impact on how we, and our ideas, come across. Our cues can either enhance our message or undermine it. In this entertaining and accessible guide to the hidden language of cues, Vanessa Van Edwards teaches you how to convey power, trust, leadership, likeability, and charisma in every interaction. You&’ll learn: • Which body language cues assert, &“I&’m a leader, and here&’s why you should join me.&” • Which vocal cues make you sound more confident • Which verbal cues to use in your résumé, branding, and emails to increase trust (and generate excitement about interacting with you.) • Which visual cues you are sending in your profile pictures, clothing, and professional brand. Whether you're pitching an investment, negotiating a job offer, or having a tough conversation with a colleague, cues can help you improve your relationships, express empathy, and create meaningful connections with lasting impact. This is an indispensable guide for entrepreneurs, team leaders, young professionals, and anyone who wants to be more influential.
Cuestión de educación: Un viaje por la enseñanza española
by Inés García-Albi¿Cómo es realmente la educación en España? ¿Cuáles son sus virtudes y cuáles sus defectos? Este libro es un esclarecedor recorrido por la educación española para aclarar el gran desconcierto y la confusión generalizada tras décadas de reformas contradictorias. La educación es un problema clave de España que nos afecta a todos: como alumnos, ex alumnos, padres o abuelos, profesores o simplemente como ciudadanos. Cuestión de educación es un diario de viaje, una road movie por el controvertido sistema educativo español. La periodista Inés García-Albi emprende un apasionante trabajo de campo por la enseñanza de este país para intentar descubrir qué es lo que ocurre con nuestro cuestionado sistema de educación. Inés vuelve a convertirse en alumna en colegios de todo tipo, interroga, indaga, busca respuestas a los principales temas que nos preocupan como padres y como ciudadanos. En Cuestión de educación se oye la voz de historiadores, políticos, inspectores, directores, profesores, madres, padres, alumnos, sindicalistas..., una respuesta coral que ofrece un panorama completo con sus luces y sombras, sus fracasos y logros (que también los hay) de la educación en este país.
Cul-de-sac
by Daniel Brooks Daniel MacivorIn his latest collaboration with director Daniel Brooks, MacIvor plays the role of Leonard, who narrates the events leading up to his murder while trying to understand them himself. Through the course of the play, we peer behind the curtains of his neighbourhood as MacIvor transforms into the multiple characters who bear witness to Leonard's life and death.
Culinary Man and the Kitchen Brigade: Normative Subjectivity in Western Fine Dining Traditions (Routledge Food Studies)
by Jordan FallonCulinary Man and the Kitchen Brigade offers an exploration of the field of normative subjectivity circulated within western fine dining traditions, presenting a theoretical analysis of the governing relationship between the chef, who embodies the Culinary Man, and the fine dining brigade.The book offers a unique treatment of western haute cuisine’s interlocking regime of labor and aesthetics and theorizes the underexplored kitchen brigade as a model of disciplinary formation. It deploys a heterogeneous set of disciplinary discourses and practices which have the effect of consolidating monopolies on epistemic authority and governance. Each position within the brigade’s hierarchy is subject to distinct, though related, disciplinary practices. Thus, chapters identify the specific practices pertinent to each brigade subject, while also illuminating how they fit together as a coherent hegemonic project. The application of Wynterian and Foucauldian insight to the fine dining brigade offers a political theory of culinary work which departs from other food studies texts. Notably, this work offers an in-depth treatment of the brigade’s colonial dimensions which resonate with emerging critiques, scholarly and general, of the race and gender politics of restaurant labor. The concluding chapters seek to identify where extant modes of resistance or alternative forms of culinary organization may hold the potential to move beyond the hegemonic overrepresentation of Culinary Man.This book will be of great interest to students and scholars from across the social sciences and humanities interested in critical food studies, political and cultural theory, and popular culinary culture.
The Cult And Science Of Public Health
by Kevin DewIn contemporary manifestations of public health rituals and events, people are being increasingly united around what they hold in common--their material being and humanity. As a cult of humanity, public health provides a moral force in society that replaces 'traditional' religions in times of great diversity or heterogeneity of peoples, activities and desires. This is in contrast to public health's foundation in science, particularly the science of epidemiology. The rigid rules of 'scientific evidence' used to determine the cause of illness and disease can work against the most vulnerable in society by putting sectors of the population, such as underrepresented workers, at a disadvantage. This study focuses on this tension between traditional science and the changing vision articulated within public health (and across many disciplines) that calls for a collective response to uncontrolled capitalism and unremitting globalization, and to the way in which health inequalities and their association with social inequalities provides a political rhetoric that calls for a new redistributive social programme. Drawing on decades of research, the author argues that public health is both a cult and a science of contemporary society.
Cult Backgrnd Persnlty Ils 84 (International Library of Sociology)
by Ralph LintonFirst Published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
The Cult Next Door: A True Story of a Suburban Manhattan New Age Cult
by Elizabeth Burchard Judith Carlone William GoldbergDuring Thanksgiving vacation of her freshman year at Swarthmore College (1977), Elizabeth, at her mother's insistence, attended a "stress-reduction" session with a biofeedback technician on staff at a Manhattan psychologist's office. During that first visit, this man filled her ears with prophetic visions of a glorious future--the inheritance of those fortunate few who might choose to accompany him. His confidence and charisma entranced her, and she soon recruited two of her college roommates. When the psychologist fired his assistant two years later, Elizabeth and her mother followed. Over the next decade, this man, a malevolent genius and master of manipulating metaphysical concepts to benefit a self-serving agenda, organized a small, dedicated band of followers. "The Group" evolved into an incestuous family--a cult. Their brainwashed minds became fused with a distinctive, New Age doctrine. A coterie of spiritual "Navy Seals", they scrambled in terror, training to survive the inevitable cataclysm--one man's divine vision of Armageddon. Subsequent to a momentous event in August 1994, with the guru as high priest, "The Black Dog Religion" was born. Elizabeth sank into a pit of despair, darker than she ever could have imagined was possible. From the adolescent gullibility which seduced her astray, to the enlightenment which led her to freedom, you will travel an incredible journey. For anyone who has ever been trapped by a person who would not let them go, within this book lies a message of hope.
The Cult of Beauty: Gender Discourse in Indian Advertising
by Jaishri JethwaneyThis book deconstructs the quintessential Indian woman that the advertising industry portrays across the spectrum by looking at Indian advertisements across multiple brands with a gender lens based on societal and sociological perspectives. It delves into various critical issues like the differences between culture-defined gender roles/expectations and women’s portrayal in the ad narrative, and which product category has consistently portrayed women as sex objects.Drawing insights from a seminal research study and Erving Goffman’s classic book ‘Gender Advertisements’, it traces the journey of three decades, beginning the 1990s – the era of liberalization in India, to map trends and patterns in Indian advertising and presents the perspectives of the creative teams and top managements across Indian and global advertising agencies. It discusses the application of a Gender Sensitivity Barometer (GSB) which the creative teams can use to find out how sensitive or insensitive the ad has been based on pre-determined indicators suggested by the GSB.This book will be useful to students, researchers and faculty working in the field of management, advertising, mass communication, psychology, gender studies and sociology. It will also be an indispensable companion to professionals from the field of advertising and related areas.
The Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition
by Leander Kahney David PieriniIt's been nearly fifteen years since Apple fans raved over the first edition of the critically-acclaimed The Cult of Mac. This long-awaited second edition brings the reader into the world of Apple today while also filling in the missing history since the 2004 edition, including the creation of Apple brand loyalty, the introduction of the iPhone, and the death of Steve Jobs.Apple is a global luxury brand whose products range from mobile phones and tablets to streaming TVs and smart home speakers. Yet despite this dominance, a distinct subculture persists, which celebrates the ways in which Apple products seem to encourage self-expression, identity, and innovation.The beautifully designed second edition of The Cult of Mac takes you inside today's Apple fandom to explore how devotions--new and old--keep the fire burning. Join journalists Leander Kahney and David Pierini as they explore how enthusiastic fans line up for the latest product releases, and how artists pay tribute to Steve Jobs' legacy in sculpture and opera. Learn why some photographers and filmmakers have eschewed traditional gear in favor of iPhone cameras. Discover a community of collectors around the world who spend tens of thousands of dollars to buy, restore, and enshrine Apple artifacts, like the Newton MessagePad and Apple II.Whether you're an Apple fan or just a casual observer, this second edition of The Cult of Mac is sure to reveal more than a few surprises, offering an intimate look at some of the most dedicated members in the Apple community.
The Cult of Personality
by Annie Murphy PaulMillions of Americans take personality tests each year: to get a job, to pursue an education, to settle a legal dispute, to better understand themselves and others. But where did these tests come from, and what are they saying about us? In The Cult of Personality, award-winning psychology writer Annie Murphy Paul reveals the surprising and disturbing story behind the tests that claim to capture human nature. Combining cutting-edge research, engaging reporting, and absorbing history, Paul uncovers the way these allegedly neutral instruments are in fact shaped by the agendas of industry and government. She documents the dangers of their intrusive questions, biased assumptions, and limiting labels. And she exposes the flawed theories and faulty methods that render their results unreliable and invalid. Personality tests, she contends, produce descriptions of people that are nothing like human beings as they actually are: complicated, contradictory, changeable across time and place. The widespread use of these tests has deeply troubling consequences. Students are being consigned to narrow categories even as they're still growing and developing. Workers are having their privacy invaded and their rights trampled. Companies are wasting hundreds of millions of dollars, only to make ill-informed decisions about hiring and promotion. Our judicial system is being undermined by inaccurate evidence. Perhaps most distressing, we are all increasingly implicated in a "cult of personality" that celebrates the superficial over the substantive, the static over the dynamic, the standard and average over the distinctive and unique. Compelling and insightful, this book is an eye-opening account of a collision among the needs of business and bureaucracy, the imperatives of a lucrative and largely unregulated testing industry, and the eternal human desire to make sense of ourselves and each other.
The Cult of Personality Testing
by Annie Murphy PaulThis book tells the surprising and disturbing story of the tests that claim to capture human nature. It goes behind the scenes to discover how personality tests are used in America's companies, its courts, its schools, and in organizations from churches to community centers to dating services. It exposes the serious flaws of personality tests, explaining why their results are often invalid, unreliable, and unfair.
The Cult of Pharmacology: How America Became the World's Most Troubled Drug Culture
by Richard DegrandpreAmerica had a radically different relationship with drugs a century ago. Drug prohibitions were few, and while alcohol was considered a menace, the public regularly consumed substances that are widely demonized today. Heroin was marketed by Bayer Pharmaceuticals, and marijuana was available as a tincture of cannabis sold by Parke Davis and Company. Exploring how this rather benign relationship with psychoactive drugs was transformed into one of confusion and chaos, The Cult of Pharmacology tells the dramatic story of how, as one legal drug after another fell from grace, new pharmaceutical substances took their place. Whether Valium or OxyContin at the pharmacy, cocaine or meth purchased on the street, or alcohol and tobacco from the corner store, drugs and drug use proliferated in twentieth-century America despite an escalating war on "drugs. " Richard DeGrandpre, a past fellow of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and author of the best-selling book Ritalin Nation, delivers a remarkably original interpretation of drugs by examining the seductive but ill-fated belief that they are chemically predestined to be either good or evil. He argues that the determination to treat the medically sanctioned use of drugs such as Miltown or Seconal separately from the illicit use of substances like heroin or ecstasy has blinded America to how drugs are transformed by the manner in which a culture deals with them. Bringing forth a wealth of scientific research showing the powerful influence of social and psychological factors on how the brain is affected by drugs, DeGrandpre demonstrates that psychoactive substances are not angels or demons irrespective of why, how, or by whom they are used. The Cult of Pharmacology is a bold and necessary new account of America's complex relationship with drugs.
The Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice
by Fredrik deBoerNamed one of Vulture’s Top 10 Best Books of 2020!Leftist firebrand Fredrik deBoer exposes the lie at the heart of our educational system and demands top-to-bottom reform.Everyone agrees that education is the key to creating a more just and equal world, and that our schools are broken and failing. Proposed reforms variously target incompetent teachers, corrupt union practices, or outdated curricula, but no one acknowledges a scientifically-proven fact that we all understand intuitively: Academic potential varies between individuals, and cannot be dramatically improved. In The Cult of Smart, educator and outspoken leftist Fredrik deBoer exposes this omission as the central flaw of our entire society, which has created and perpetuated an unjust class structure based on intellectual ability.Since cognitive talent varies from person to person, our education system can never create equal opportunity for all. Instead, it teaches our children that hierarchy and competition are natural, and that human value should be based on intelligence. These ideas are counter to everything that the left believes, but until they acknowledge the existence of individual cognitive differences, progressives remain complicit in keeping the status quo in place.This passionate, voice-driven manifesto demands that we embrace a new goal for education: equality of outcomes. We must create a world that has a place for everyone, not just the academically talented. But we’ll never achieve this dream until the Cult of Smart is destroyed.
The Cult of the Amateur: How blogs, MySpace, YouTube and the rest of today's user-generated media are killing our culture and economy
by Andrew KeenA new, updated edition, with a new foreword of Andrew Keen's witty and provocative polemic against the rise of user-generated content and the anything goes standards of much online publishing, which set the blogosphere and media alight on publication. Dubbed the 'anti-christ' of Silicon Valley and a dot-com apostate Andrew Keen is the leading contemporary critic of the Internet. and The Cult of the Amateur is a scathing attack on the mad utopians of Web 2.0 and the wisdom of the crowd. Keen argues that much of the content filling up YouTube, MySpace, and blogs is just an endless digital forest of mediocrity which, unconstrained by professional standards or editorial filters, can alter public debate and manipulate public opinion.