An Intimate Rebuke

An Intimate Rebuke
Author: Laura S. Grillo
Publisher: Duke University Press
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2019-01-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1478002638

Throughout West African societies, at times of social crises, postmenopausal women—the Mothers—make a ritual appeal to their innate moral authority. The seat of this power is the female genitalia. Wielding branches or pestles, they strip naked and slap their genitals and bare breasts to curse and expel the forces of evil. In An Intimate Rebuke Laura S. Grillo draws on fieldwork in Côte d’Ivoire that spans three decades to illustrate how these rituals of Female Genital Power (FGP) constitute religious and political responses to abuses of power. When deployed in secret, FGP operates as spiritual warfare against witchcraft; in public, it serves as a political activism. During Côte d’Ivoire’s civil wars FGP challenged the immoral forces of both rebels and the state. Grillo shows how the ritual potency of the Mothers’ nudity and the conjuration of their sex embodies a moral power that has been foundational to West African civilization. Highlighting the remarkable continuity of the practice across centuries while foregrounding the timeliness of FGP in contemporary political resistance, Grillo shifts perspectives on West African history, ethnography, comparative religious studies, and postcolonial studies.

The Romances of Chretien de Troyes

The Romances of Chretien de Troyes
Author: Joseph J. Duggan
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 412
Release: 2008-10-01
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0300133707

Twelfth-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes was one of the most influential figures in Western literature, for his romantic poems on the legend of King Arthur gave rise to a tradition of storytelling that continues to this day. This important and fascinating book is a study of all of Chrétien’s work. Joseph J. Duggan begins with an introduction that sets Chrétien within the social and intellectual currents of his time. He then organizes the book in chapters that focus on major issues in Chrétien’s romances rather than on individual works, topics that range from the importance of kinship and genealogy to standards of secular moral responsibility and from Chrétien’s art of narration to his representation of knighthood. Duggan offers new perspectives on many of these themes: in a chapter on the influence of Celtic mythology, for example, he gives special attention to the ways Chrétien integrated portrayals of motivation with mythic themes and characters, and in discussing the Grail romance, he explores the parallels between Perceval’s and Gauvain’s adventures.

S. Hurok Presents; A Memoir of the Dance World

S. Hurok Presents; A Memoir of the Dance World
Author: Sol Hurok
Publisher: Good Press
Total Pages: 412
Release: 2023-07-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

"S. Hurok Presents; A Memoir of the Dance World" by Sol Hurok. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Western Views of Islam in Medieval and Early Modern Europe

Western Views of Islam in Medieval and Early Modern Europe
Author: M. Frassetto
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 240
Release: 1999-12-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 0312299672

Western Views of Islam in Medieval and Early Modern Europe considers the various attitudes of European religious and secular writers towards Islam during the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. Examining works from England, France, Italy, the Holy Lands, and Spain, the essays in this volume explore the reactions of Westerners to the culture and religion of Islam. Many of the works studied reveal the hostility toward Islam of Europeans and the creation of negative stereotypes of Muslims by Western writers. These essays also reveal attempts at accommodation and understanding that stand in contrast to the prevailing hostility that existed then and, in some ways, exists still today.

Handbook of Space Security

Handbook of Space Security
Author: Kai-Uwe Schrogl
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014-10-31
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9781461420286

Space Security involves the use of space (in particular communication, navigation, earth observation, and electronic intelligence satellites) for military and security purposes on earth and also the maintenance of space (in particular the earth orbits) as safe and secure areas for conducting peaceful activities. The two aspects can be summarized as "space for security on earth" and “the safeguarding of space for peaceful endeavors.” The Handbook will provide a sophisticated, cutting-edge resource on the space security policy portfolio and the associated assets, assisting fellow members of the global space community and other interested policy-making and academic audiences in keeping abreast of the current and future directions of this vital dimension of international space policy. The debate on coordinated space security measures, including relevant 'Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures,' remains at a relatively early stage of development. The book offers a comprehensive description of the various components of space security and how these challenges are being addressed today. It will also provide a number of recommendations concerning how best to advance this space policy area, given the often competing objectives of the world's major space-faring nations. The critical role to be played by the United States and Europe as an intermediary and "middle diplomat" in promoting sustainable norms of behavior for space will likewise be highlighted. In providing a global and coherent analytical approach to space security today, the Handbook focuses on four areas that together define the entire space security area: policies, technologies, applications, and programs. This structure will assure the overall view of the subject from its political to its technical aspects. Internationally recognized experts in each of the above fields contribute, with their analytical synthesis assured by the section editors.