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The fall and rise of the English upper class explores the role traditionalist worldviews, articulated by members of the historic upper-class, have played in British society in the shadow of her imperial and economic decline in the twentieth century. Situating these traditionalist visions alongside Britain's post-Brexit fantasies of global economic resurgence and a socio-cultural return to a green and pleasant land, Smith examines Britain's Establishment institutions, the estates of her landed gentry and aristocracy, through to an appetite for nostalgic products represented with pastoral or pre-modern symbolism. It is demonstrated that these institutions and pursuits play a central role in situating social, cultural and political belonging. Crucially these institutions and pursuits rely upon a form of membership which is grounded in a kinship idiom centred upon inheritance and descent: who inherits the houses of privilege, inherits England

Charting the decline and recent resurgence of the landed gentry in British public life, The fall and rise of the English upper class explores how traditionalist worldviews, centred on kinship, inheritance, and the image of the house, have come to shape our politics and culture.

Through a historical ethnography of Santos, Brazil, Progress in the Balance addresses and assesses an anthropological theory of progress. Observing that anthropology is a progressive discipline with a pessimistic attitude towards progress, Daniel Reichman explains the contested meanings of progress in Brazil and explores how anthropologists and others can define this concept more generally. He investigates how any society can separate "progress" from plain old change and, if change is constantly happening all around us, how and why certain events get lifted out of a normal timeframe and into a mythic narrative of progress.Each chapter outlines a particular episode in the history of Santos, a city undergoing an unprecedented period of economic and political turmoil, as it is represented in public culture, mainly through museums, monuments, art, and public events. Drawing on the anthropology of myth, Reichman proposes a model that he refers to as a "clash of timescapes." Progress in the Balance shows how this concept of "progress" requires a different temporal structure that separates sacralized social change from mundane historical events

The fleeting visit of the Enlightenment -- Perspective -- A new era and the catastrophic convergence -- A new physical and social setting -- About science -- Three metaphysical revolutions -- Beliefs and knowledge -- The growing ecological footprint -- Ozone and CO2 -- Escape -- Blowback and nuclear weapons -- Post-truth, conspiracies, and denialism -- The tragedy of our time -- Ethics and economics -- What to do? -- Two gates.

Picking a President -- Election Day and Beyond -- Creating the College -- The Electoral Vote -- An Old System -- The Best System? -- Changing the College -- Do the People's Votes Still Count? -- Going Forward -- Infographic -- SilverTips for Success -- Glossary -- Read More -- Learn More Online -- Index -- About the Author.

Disappearing glaciers -- Changing the land -- Human impact on the land -- Devastating deforestation -- Overhunting and over farming -- Water woes -- Moving mountains -- Conservation counts -- Earth Day and "going green" -- Government protection -- What can you do?