Scholastic Magic

Scholastic Magic
Author: Michael D. Swartz
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 278
Release: 2014-07-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1400864410

In exploring the social background of early Jewish mysticism, Scholastic Magic tells the story of how imagination and magic were made to serve memory and scholasticism. In the visionary literature that circulated between the fifth and ninth centuries, there are strange tales of ancient rabbis conjuring the angel known as Sar-Torah, the "Prince of the Torah." This angel endowed the rabbis themselves with spectacular memory and skill in learning, and then taught them the formulas for giving others these gifts. This literature, according to Michael Swartz, gives us rare glimpses of how ancient and medieval Jews who stood outside the mainstream of rabbinic leadership viewed Torah and ritual. Through close readings of the texts, he uncovers unfamiliar dimensions of the classical Judaic idea of Torah and the rabbinic civilization that forged them. Swartz sets the stage for his analysis with a discussion of the place of memory and orality in ancient and medieval Judaism and how early educational and physiological theories were marshaled for the cultivation of memory. He then examines the unusual magical rituals for conjuring angels and ascending to heaven as well as the authors' attitudes to authority and tradition, showing them to have subverted essential rabbinic values even as they remained beholden to them. The result is a ground-breaking analysis of the social and conceptual background of rabbinic Judaism and ancient Mediterranean religions. Offering complete translations of the principal Sar-Torah texts, Scholastic Magic will become essential reading for those interested in religions in the ancient and medieval world, ritual studies, and popular religion. Originally published in 1996. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Side by Side

Side by Side
Author: Leonard S. Marcus
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 66
Release: 2006-12-26
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0802796168

Describes the process by which several teams of authors and illustrators have created such picture books as "Louis the Fish," "The Glorious Flight," "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales," "Sam and the Tigers," and "The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses."

Magic and Ritual in the Ancient World

Magic and Ritual in the Ancient World
Author: Paul Mirecki
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 488
Release: 2002-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9047400402

This volume contains a series of provocative essays that explore expressions of magic and ritual power in the ancient world. The essays are authored by leading scholars in the fields of Egyptology, ancient Near Eastern studies, the Hebrew Bible, Judaica, classical Greek and Roman studies, early Christianity and patristics, and Coptic and Islamic Egypt. The strength of the present volume lies in the breadth of scholarly approaches represented. The book begins with several papyrological studies presenting important new texts in Greek and Coptic, continuing with essays focusing on taxonomy and definition. The concluding essays apply contemporary theories to analyses of specific test cases in a broad variety of ancient Mediterranean cultures.

Scholasticism

Scholasticism
Author: Jose Ignacio Cabezon
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 276
Release: 1998-05-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0791498239

Leading religious studies scholars join forces in this book to show that scholasticism as a comparative category is a useful tool in the analysis of a variety of religious and philosophical traditions, and even in the task of cultural criticism. The discussions range from explorations of Latin, Jewish, and Muslim modes of scholastic thought to examinations of their counterparts in India, Tibet, China, and contemporary Euro-American academic culture. The contributors consider the heterogeneous nature of traditions generally, and of scholastic traditions in particular, by demonstrating the rich, internal texture that is the result of the historical interaction of different religious and philosophical schools. They also explore what it means to construct a comparative category like scholasticism by applying it sensitively and dialogically to a variety of religious and intellectual movements across cultures. Focusing thematically on scholasticism, the book offers detailed reflections regarding its relevance to a variety of traditions (Hindu, Confucian, Taoist, Buddhist, Jewish, Islamic, and Christian). But while grounded in the rich, historical particularity of these various religions and cultures, the volume also makes a considerable contribution to theory. The contributors are committed to a form of analysis that balances "similarities" with "differences," one that also does not disregard either the diachronic element or the relevance of the social-material evidence. By offering a nuanced and sophisticated treatment of the problematics of constructing a comparative category like scholasticism, this volume represents a major contribution to the comparative philosophy of religion. With its breadth of scope and its richness of both historical detail and theoretical insight, the book will interest a wide audience ranging from medievalists to historians of religion, from philosophers to cultural critics.

Good Choice!

Good Choice!
Author: Tony Stead
Publisher: Stenhouse Publishers
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2009
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1571107320

"In Good Choice!, noted author and literacy specialist Tony Stead outlines the components that foster successful independent reading in grades K-6." "With examples appropriate to emergent readers in grades K-2, as well as more seasoned readers in grades 3-6, Tony provides a comprehensive plan for integrating independent reading throughout the day. He offers systems for organizing the class library and checking books in and out, lessons on book selection and responding to text, advice on supporting children and parents in home reading, guidance on conferring with students, and an array of helpful appendix materials including graphic organizers, questionnaires, and assessment and monitoring rubrics."--BOOK JACKET.

Who Owns the Media?

Who Owns the Media?
Author: Benjamin M. Compaine
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 902
Release: 2000-07-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1135679223

This thorough update to Benjamin Compaine's original 1979 benchmark and 1982 revisit of media ownership tackles the question of media ownership, providing a detailed examination of the current state of the media industry. Retaining the wealth of data of the earlier volumes, Compaine and his co-author Douglas Gomery chronicle the myriad changes in the media industry and the factors contributing to these changes. They also examine how the media industry is being reshaped by technological forces in all segments, as well as by social and cultural reactions to these forces. This third edition of Who Owns the Media? has been reorganized and expanded, reflecting the evolution of the media industry structure. Looking beyond conventional wisdom and expectations, Compaine and Gomery examine the characteristics of competition in the media marketplace, present alternative positions on the meanings of concentration, and ultimately urge readers to draw their own conclusions on an issue that is neither black nor white. Appropriate for media practitioners and sociologists, historians, and economists studying mass media, this volume can also be used for advanced courses in broadcasting, journalism, mass communication, telecommunications, and media education. As a new benchmark for the current state of media ownership, it is invaluable to anyone needing to understand who controls the media and thus the information and entertainment messages received by media consumers.

The Mechanics of Providence

The Mechanics of Providence
Author: Michael D. Swartz
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
Total Pages: 349
Release: 2018-10-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3161550021

The phenomena we call magic and mysticism had a profound effect on the shaping of Judaism in late antiquity. In this volume, Michael D. Swartz offers a wide-ranging study of the purposes, world-views, ritual dynamics, literary forms, and social settings of ancient Jewish magic and mysticism and their function in religion and history. Based on the author's studies over the past few decades, he proposes innovative methods for the study of these two phenomena. The author focuses especially on the rituals of early Jewish magic and mysticism, their social contexts, and the textual dimension of this complex literature. He also offers introductions to these phenomena. Michael D. Swartz argues that the authors of these texts employed intricate technologies, literary and artistic forms, and physical practices to negotiate between the values and world-views of their cultures and the texture of everyday life.

The Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Book List K-8

The Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Book List K-8
Author: Irene C. Fountas
Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books
Total Pages: 742
Release: 2006
Genre: Education
ISBN:

A printed, bound version of the official Fountas & Pinnell leveled book list, sorted by title and by level.

Keeping the Mystery Alive

Keeping the Mystery Alive
Author: Ariana Huberman
Publisher: Academic Studies PRess
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2022-09-06
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1644698986

This book delves into creative renditions of key aspects of Jewish Mysticism in Latin American literature, film, and art from the perspective of literary and cultural studies. It introduces the work of Latin American authors and artists who have been inspired by Jewish Mysticism from the 1960s to the present focusing on representations of dybbuks (transmigratory souls), the presence of Eros as part of the experience of mystical prayer, reformulations of Zoharic fables, and the search for Tikkun Olam (cosmic repair), among other key topics of Jewish Mysticism. The purpose of this book is to open up these aspects of their work to a broad audience who may or may not be familiar with Jewish Mysticism.