Search results

Enthält Rezensionen u.a. von Almond, G. A.: The civic culture : political attitudes and democracy in five nations / G. A. Almond and S. Verba. - Princeton, NJ : Princeton Univ. Press, 1963. + Almond, G. A.: The civic culture revisited / G. A. Almond and S. Verba. - London : Sage, 1989

This volume addresses the dynamics of materiality over time and space. In cross-cultural, multi-temporal and interdisciplinary studies the authors examine how things gain meaning and status, generate a multitude of emotions, and feed into the propagation of myths, narratives and discourses. The book is divided according to four themes: soft objects, stoic stories, consuming and the collectable, and waste and technologies. The first section discusses the meanings of the lived environment on the individual and national levels. The second section provides specific examples on the role of things in identity construction. The third section focuses on historical and contemporary aspects of consumption and collecting. The phenomena under scrutiny in the fourth section are moral dilemmas associated with and representations of dirt/waste and advancements in science and technology. Presenting diverse case studies of material culture, the volume points to rich interdisciplinary approaches in cultural theory.

POLITICAL SCIENCE HAS IGNORED MANY CRITICAL ASPECTS OF THE 'LEISURE CULTURE'. TO REMEDY THIS, A NEW PERSPECTIVE IN POLITICAL STUDIES SHOULD BE DEVELOPED. THE LEISURE CULTURE HAS A POWERFUL EFFECT ON THE POLITICAL CULTURE THROUGH THE SUPPORT OFFERED FOR POLITICAL AIMS, WHILE GOVERNMENT POLICIES GREATLY AFFECT THE LEISURE CULTURE. THE MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POLITICS & CULTURE INCLUDE: (1) RECIPROCAL INTERACTION BETWEEN POLITICS & CULTURE, (2) CULTURAL POLICY, CLASS, & DISSENT, & (3) AN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT. TO DEVELOP A POLITICAL SCIENCE THAT ENCOMPASSES BOTH POLITICS & CULTURE, THE DISCIPLINE SHOULD BE STUDIED LESS & THE CULTURE MORE. 1 FIGURE. MODIFIED AUTHOR'S SUMMARY.

The field of political culture bridges the gap between political & social history & alleviates the tension political historians feel about their place in the larger realm of historical scholarship. Political culture as a field developed from some 1980s scholarship. Entering into the study of political culture are new readings of traditional sources & new modes of evidence, even human emotions. The works of scholars recently applying political culture to the study of early national politics in the US are reviewed. The debate within the political culture field on the study of elites vs the study of race, class, & gender is discussed. M. Pflum