Suchergebnisse

How unique is man? How much are we bound by a common nature? To what extent is culture an expression of instinct? Such questions have haunted the development of social theory. In this fascinating book, Stephen Horigan argues that our thinking on these matters has been bedevilled by the enlightenment distinction between nature and culture. He criticizes this on the grounds that terms such as 'nature', 'culture', 'human', and 'animal' are ambiguous. He uses the themes of wildness and primitivism and cases of 'feral' children to illustrate his argument

This paper reflects on the impact of gender in the writing of history by considering the reception of Creating A Nation, the first gendered history of Australia. It argues that while there has emerged an impressive volume of feminist history and with it has come an important acceptance of women's historical experience, the reception of 'gender' within the historical profession has paradoxically been ambivalent and ambiguous. This is the case because of an unease about feminist theory and its relevance to history. There also remains a prevailing belief that a gendered neutral historical place exists, to which historians can retreat.

Introduction: popular culture, racialized identities, and African visual culture -- Race-ing fantasy: the Sports illustrated swimsuit issue in South Africa -- "It's sort of like National geographic meets Sports illustrated" -- Fashioning identities: Kente, nostalgia, and the world of Barbie -- It's a small, white world -- Africa in Florida: Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge -- Refrain: Africa in the American imagination.

This paper discusses the contribution of Richard A. Peterson to the discipline of sociology in general, and the sociological study of cultural production and consumption more particularly. It illustrate the main tenets of the 'production of culture' perspective proposed by Peterson from the early 1970s onwards, its intellectual genealogy, and the impact this perspective has had on the development of the sociology of culture in different countries. The paper also considers some of the criticisms addressed to the production of culture approach by scholars who have insisted on more interpretivist or critical analyses of culture. The paper concludes by arguing for the heuristic usefulness and epistemological relevance of an approach to cultural analysis which, while still cultivating a sense for the specificities of cultural objects as symbolic representations and meaning structures, is empirically focused on institutions and forms of social organization.

Four decades ago, Whyte (1956), described how a new human expression had become universally evident. This was the notion of the 'Organisation Man', an early corporate culture characterised by the middle ranks of managers in large organisations, who were subject to a 'social ethic'. Under the original conception gender was not an issue. However, in a contemporary view of human resource management (HRM) and corporate culture, it has become crucial to understanding both notions of competitive advantage, and the thesis and influence of commitment in the literature and the workplace. This article deals with some issues of women and the organisation man/corporate culture thesis. Unlike many studies (e.g. Fletcher et al, 1993), there is a need to make a distinction between women and men concerning their perceptions and roles. A need to clarify the changes that have taken place in relation to the corporate culture thesis. The analysis in this paper is based on initial research material. It deals with the above issues in relation to gender in contemporary society, asking as it does, if the notion of corporate culture has changed to one where both men and women are implicated in the project at a full, emotional level.

The strategic thinking that inevitably followed the end of the Cold War's bipolar rivalry has spawned some interesting theories about war in the twenty-first century. However, these do not adequately address the factor of culture, which probably offers the best insights on emerging regional and intrastate conflicts. We should not assume that the rationale for war or the means of war-making are one and the same for Hutus, Arabs, Russians, Chechens, Afghanis, and Kashmiris. In this regard, Adda Bozeman's older theory of war and culture deserves a second look. Although that theory primarily addresses the philosophy of war, it also lends itself to a comparative study of the ways of war. A cursory case study of conflict in the Levant demonstrates the potential merit of the cultural-historical method that Bozeman advocates. The full application of this method to all areas of strategic interest would be an extensive undertaking, but a valid effort nonetheless.

"Culture, Discourse, and the Workplace adds new theoretical and methodological insights into the complex relationship between language, culture, and identity in professional settings. Examining the politics of language use at work and via a critical sociolinguistic approach, this book: - Utilises three case studies from institutional and business contexts to provide a unique illustration of participants' roles and negotiating membership within the business meeting; - Questions essentialist meanings of culture and the ways in which they constitute a powerful resource for employees to perpetuate or challenge the status quo in their professional setting; - Includes a core section on methodology for the Workplace Discourse researcher as well as a section dedicated to FAQs and a worked example on data analysis; - Provides future directions for Workplace Sociolinguistics as a field and makes a case for holistic research and multidisciplinary enquiry. Culture, Discourse, and the Workplace constitutes a key resource for students and teachers of Intercultural Communication and ESP and will also be of significant interest to researchers in the fields of workplace studies and business interaction"--

Culture dictates our conduct based on the value system that it promotes. Culture makes us who we are and has direct impact on how we behave because it defines, promotes and values conducts which we are all keen to pursue. The marks of today's prevailing culture should be viewed as an unprecedented threat faced by mankind because of the structured persuasion tools innate to the system and create limitless possibilities of realities that enable man to reject traditions and move from one vanguard to another in pursue of something that is not real. Culture can be designed by those that control the institutions of the society, taking the individual away from the collective sense of belonging to a community. On the one side this creates an anomic state of public mind and on the other side it creates fragmented communities that lead to disintegrated service of government and decision-making. "The Knowledge of Culture and the Culture of Knowledge" explores the construct of information and information culture and its relationship to the prevailing culture. The author provides an analysis of the relationship of media to the core constructs in the book by explaining why they have been put together to form one single idea. The book focuses on a case study of how media is used to construct realities as it is in the case of economic crisis in order to draw implications for society as a whole

"Despite the pervasive feeling that much of the culture of Western democracies has increasingly become inauthentic or phoney, contemporary cultural critics and observers have paid little attention to the traditional philosophical criticism of inauthentic culture that began with Socrates. Aristophanes, and Plato and was applied, reworked, and extended by such philosophical cultural critics as St Augustine, Erasmus, Voltaire, Nietzsche, and Thorstein Veblen. This new study in the philosophy of culture and the history of ideas illuminates the problem of inauthentic culture and draws on the insights of major figures from the Western intellectual tradition to show that our contemporary problem is actually an old and enduring one." "Inauthentic Culture and Its Philosophical Critics will be of great interest to all those concerned with philosophy, cultural theory, and the enduring problem of cultural decline."--Jacket

Mass Culture and Everyday Life is a collection of lively work from the small but seminal journal Tabloid. The book offers a clarification of the study of mass culture as it transforms daily life, providing a detailed survey of a wide range of the mass culture phenomena that have defined our everyday lives in recent years: from Hillary's hairdo to tampons, exercise fads and fashion trends; from soaps to opera to rythmn and blues; from horror movies to the interrelation of cats, pigs and mothers in Babe. This volume includes ground-breaking essays on: the boom of talk radio and talk TV; shoppin

Intro -- International Medievalism and Popular Culture -- Copyright -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Sovereignty and Neomedievalism -- 2. The Battle for Reality -- 3. Coming Home -- 4. The Middle Ages and the Arab Spring -- 5. Medievalism on the Streets -- 6. Encounter, Fragment, Reuse -- 7. Anna and Julia -- 8. The Girl in the Forest -- 9. Violence and Resistance in Contemporary Fantasy Fiction -- 10. Mateship in the Middle Ages -- 11. Here Be Dragons -- 12. Swords in Stones / Ladies in Lakes -- Afterword -- Contributors.