Suchergebnisse

"In this new book Zygmunt Bauman and Riccardo Mazzeo examine the contentious issue of the relation between literature (and the arts in general) and sociology (or, more generally, a branch of the humanities claiming scientific status). While many commentators see literature and sociology as radically different vocations, Bauman and Mazzeo argue that they are bound together by a common purpose and a shared subject matter. Despite the many differences in terms of their methods and their ways of presenting their findings, novels and sociological texts are not at cross-purposes. Indeed, it is precisely their differences that make them at once indispensable to each other and mutually complementary. The writers of novels and of sociological texts may explore their world from different perspectives, seeking and producing different types of 'data', but their products bear the unmistakable marks of their shared origin. They feed each other and depend on each other in terms of their agenda, their discoveries and the contents of their messages. In a world characterized by the continuous search for new sensations and the fetishism of consumption, they bring fundamental existential questions back to the public agenda. Literature and sociology reveal the truth of the human condition only when they stay in one another's company, remaining attentive to each other's findings and engaged in a continuous dialogue. For only together can they rise to the challenging task of untangling and laying bare the complex intertwining of biography and history as well as of individual and society that totality we are constantly shaping while being shaped by it"--

A study of the dilemma of man's alienation from the natural world in which he has evolved as caused by the overwhelming predominance of sci & technology in the modern world, manifesting itself particularly in the ever-increasing mastery by man over nature. Attention is drawn to studies of our natural environment which serve to indicate that the character of man's assault on nature has reflected a failure to comprehend his place within it -- that the technological emphasis represents a very narrow, inevitably incomplete & distorted conception of that relationship. A review of res by Franklin Thomas, Raymond H. Wheeler, Stephen S. Visher, Clarence A. Mills, Ellsworth Huntington, Sidney F. Markham, Marston Bates, Earl P. Hanson, Charles E. Winslow & Lovic P. Herrington in the area of climate leads to a conclusion that to a considerable extent, control of certain climatic effects may, for the human organism, be regarded as a 3-fold problem in engineering: (1) internal control --nutrition, (2) surface control -- clothing, & (3) external control -- construction & air conditioning. The work of Huntington, Wheeler, Mills & Markham concerning the role of climate in human growth & behavior -- the interaction of climate with heredity, cultural phenomena, & other aspects of the natural environment in the development of civilization is noted, esp questions re the apparent psychol'al (& perhaps autonomic) effects on man by climatic phenomena such as weather factors & their variations, sunspot activity & atmospheric radiation, long & shorter-run climatic cycles, etc. Impressive is have been established between climate & human vigor, between `optimum' climatic conditions & industrial, intellectual, & soc achievements -- less convincingly, but signif'ly between climate & the rise & fall of civilizations, & between forms of econ & soc activity. Perhaps the implication is that `natural selection' can never be replaced by human culture in the sense of man's ultimate (organic) position in nature -- not if he is to remain `man.' The work of the authors cited have in common the implication of a general unity underlying all organic (including human) & inorganic activity in the universe -- man becoming manfest as 'the factor in nature which exhibits in its most intense form the plasticity of nature.' Perhaps we may perceive in man's alienation from the natural environment -- this disestablishment of man's organic roots in nature, so strikingly indicated in these studies of climate society -- a basic, if not the basic cause of the loss of humanism so tragically demonstrated in modern times. Modified AA.

Homosexuality, bisexuality, transvestitism, and trans-genders represented new ideas, customs, and mentalities which shattered nineteenth-century Italy. At this time, Italy was a state in the making, with a growing population, a fading aristocracy, and new urban classes entering the scene. While still an extremely Catholic country, atheism and secularization slowly undermined the old, traditional morality, with literature and poetry endorsing innovative fashions coming from abroad. Laxity mixed with perversion, while new forms of sexuality mirrored the immense changes taking place in a society

"With numerous original translations of ancient poetry, inscriptions and documents, this volume is the first major sourcebook to explore the multifaceted nature of sexuality in antiquity." "Themes such as marriage, prostitution and same-sex attraction are presented comparatively, with material from Greece and Roman worlds shown side by side; this approach allows readers to interpret the written records with a full awareness of the different context of these separate but related societies. Commentaries are provided throughout, focusing on vocabulary and social and historical context."--Jacket

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Preface -- Table of Contents -- Part I: Historical and Empirical Studies -- 1 Historical Perspectives of Popular Culture -- 2 The Debate Over Art and Popular Culture: A Synopsis -- Excursus A: Notes on the Theater and the Sermon -- 3 Eighteenth Century England: A Case Study -- Excursus B: The Debate on Cultural Standards in Nineteenth Century England -- 4 The Reception of Dostoevski in Pre-World War I Germany -- 5 The Biographical Fashion -- 6 The Triumph of Mass Idols -- Excursus C: Some Thoughts on the 1937 Edition of International Who's Who -- Part II: Contributions to the Philosophy of Communication -- 7 On Sociology of Literature (1932) -- 8 On Sociology of Literature (1948) -- 9 Humanistic Perspectives of David Riesman's -- 10 Popular Culture: A Humanistic and Sociological Concept