On Empire

On Empire
Author: Eric Hobsbawm
Publisher: Pantheon
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2008-11-26
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0307489027

In these four incisive and keenly perceptive essays, one of out most celebrated and respected historians of modern Europe looks at the world situation and some of the major political problems confronting us at the start of the third millennium. With his usual measured and brilliant historical perspective, Eric Hobsbawm traces the rise of American hegemony in the twenty-first century. He examines the state of steadily increasing world disorder in the context of rapidly growing inequalities created by rampant free-market globalization. He makes clear that there is no longer a plural power system of states whose relations are governed by common laws--including those for the conduct of war. He scrutinizes America's policies, particularly its use of the threat of terrorism as an excuse for unilateral deployment of its global power. Finally, he discusses the ways in which the current American hegemony differs from the defunct British Empire in its inception, its ideology, and its effects on nations and individuals. Hobsbawm is particularly astute in assessing the United States' assertion of world hegemony, its denunciation of formerly accepted international conventions, and its launching of wars of aggression when it sees fit. Aside from the naivete and failure that have surrounded most of these imperial campaigns, Hobsbawm points out that foreign values and institutions--including those associated with a democratic government--can rarely be imposed on countries such as Iraq by outside forces unless the conditions exist that make them acceptable and readily adaptable. Timely and accessible, On Empire is a commanding work of history that should be read by anyone who wants some understanding of the turbulent times in which we live.

Trap Door

Trap Door
Author: Reina Gossett
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017-12-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0262036606

Essays, conversations, and archival investigations explore the paradoxes, limitations, and social ramifications of trans representation within contemporary culture. The increasing representation of trans identity throughout art and popular culture in recent years has been nothing if not paradoxical. Trans visibility is touted as a sign of a liberal society, but it has coincided with a political moment marked both by heightened violence against trans people (especially trans women of color) and by the suppression of trans rights under civil law. Trap Door grapples with these contradictions. The essays, conversations, and dossiers gathered here delve into themes as wide-ranging yet interconnected as beauty, performativity, activism, and police brutality. Collectively, they attest to how trans people are frequently offered “doors”—entrances to visibility and recognition—that are actually “traps,” accommodating trans bodies and communities only insofar as they cooperate with dominant norms. The volume speculates about a third term, perhaps uniquely suited for our time: the trapdoor, neither entrance nor exit, but a secret passageway leading elsewhere. Trap Door begins a conversation that extends through and beyond trans culture, showing how these issues have relevance for anyone invested in the ethics of visual culture. Contributors Lexi Adsit, Sara Ahmed, Nicole Archer, Kai Lumumba Barrow, Johanna Burton, micha cárdenas, Mel Y. Chen, Grace Dunham, Treva Ellison, Sydney Freeland, Che Gossett, Reina Gossett, Stamatina Gregory, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Robert Hamblin, Eva Hayward, Juliana Huxtable, Yve Laris Cohen, Abram J. Lewis, Heather Love, Park McArthur, CeCe McDonald, Toshio Meronek, Fred Moten, Tavia Nyong'o, Morgan M. Page, Roy Pérez, Dean Spade, Eric A. Stanley, Jeannine Tang, Wu Tsang, Jeanne Vaccaro, Chris E. Vargas, Geo Wyeth, Kalaniopua Young, Constantina Zavitsanos

The Palgrave Handbook of Africa and the Changing Global Order

The Palgrave Handbook of Africa and the Changing Global Order
Author: Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 1116
Release: 2021-11-22
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3030774813

This handbook fills a large gap in the current knowledge about the critical role of Africa in the changing global order. By connecting the past, present, and future in a continuum that shows the paradox of existence for over one billion people, the book underlines the centrality of the African continent to global knowledge production, the global economy, global security, and global creativity. Bringing together perspectives from top Africa scholars, it actively dispels myths of the continent as just a passive recipient of external influences, presenting instead an image of an active global agent that astutely projects soft power. Unlike previous handbooks, this book offers an eclectic mix of historical, contemporary, and interdisciplinary approaches that allow for a more holistic view of the many aspects of Africa’s relations with the world.

Cow-keeping in India; a Simple and Practical Book on Their Care and Treatment, Their Various Breeds, and the Means of Rendering Them Profitable

Cow-keeping in India; a Simple and Practical Book on Their Care and Treatment, Their Various Breeds, and the Means of Rendering Them Profitable
Author: Isa Tweed
Publisher: Legare Street Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2022-10-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781017180350

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Who Killed the Homecoming Queen?

Who Killed the Homecoming Queen?
Author: R.L. Stine
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2022-09-06
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1665927674

A teen girl’s rising star attracts the attention of a sinister figure in this chilling young adult thriller from Goosebumps author R.L. Stine. Tania is having the best year of her life. She has a hot new boyfriend, she landed the starring role in a student film, and she’s just been voted homecoming queen. But someone is jealous of Tania and plans to ruin her perfect year—even if that means killing her. Will Tania live to see the homecoming dance?

Karl Popper, Science and Enlightenment

Karl Popper, Science and Enlightenment
Author: Nicholas Maxwell
Publisher: UCL Press
Total Pages: 392
Release: 2017-09-26
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 178735041X

Here is an idea that just might save the world. It is that science, properly understood, provides us with the methodological key to the salvation of humanity. A version of this idea can be found in the works of Karl Popper. Famously, Popper argued that science cannot verify theories but can only refute them, and this is how science makes progress. Scientists are forced to think up something better, and it is this, according to Popper, that drives science forward.But Nicholas Maxwell finds a flaw in this line of argument. Physicists only ever accept theories that are unified – theories that depict the same laws applying to the range of phenomena to which the theory applies – even though many other empirically more successful disunified theories are always available. This means that science makes a questionable assumption about the universe, namely that all disunified theories are false. Without some such presupposition as this, the whole empirical method of science breaks down.By proposing a new conception of scientific methodology, which can be applied to all worthwhile human endeavours with problematic aims, Maxwell argues for a revolution in academic inquiry to help humanity make progress towards a better, more civilized and enlightened world.

What is Goth?

What is Goth?
Author: Voltaire
Publisher:
Total Pages: 120
Release: 2004-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

What Is Goth? is a humorous, self-deprecating look at Goth culture from the inside out. Imagine The Preppy Handbook colliding with Charles Addams. Then add a lot more melancholy and a lot more spooky. What Is Goth? dispels the false stereotypes and reinforces the true ones surrounding Goths and Goth culture. "To the mundane," Voltaire writes, "Goths are weird, black-clad freaks who are obsessed with death; they are sad all of the time. Take a closer look at the Goth scene, however, and you will find a rich tapestry of ideas and practices and a menagerie of colorful characters. Oh, dear. I said 'colorful.'" Yes, Goths are pale, wear black clothing, love black makeup (on men and women), mope, listen to real downer music, and perfect the art of living in a perpetual state of ennui and melancholy. But there's so much more to being Goth. Goths come from all walks of life. Many are teenagers who live with their parents; others are doctors, lawyers, musicians, and so on. Most Goths are highly literate and creative, but all real Goths have to dress the part. In other words, "Abandon all hope ye who enter a Goth club in khakis!" Eerily illustrated, What Is Goth? is the perfect book for any Goth, Goth wannabe, or "mundane" who is hopelessly confused by all the gloom.