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Anyang: A Chronicle of the Discovery, Excavation, and Reconstruction of the Ancient Capital of the Shang Dynasty (China Academic Library)
by Chi LiThis book presents an anthology of English-language archaeological and anthropological writings by Li Chi, the founding father of modern archaeology in China. It is divided into 15 chapters; in the first two, Dr. Li sets the stage by introducing the principal characters involved in the first “act” of this modern archaeological drama; in the third and fourth chapters, he describes the status of Chinese archaeology during the early years of the twentieth century and highlights the contributions of prominent foreigners. Starting with the fifth chapter, Dr. Li begins detailing the excavations and describes the principle finds of the Anyang expedition. In turn, the book’s closing chapters present a summary of the findings and descriptions of some of the major publications that this monumental project has yielded. For readers who are interested in Chinese civilization, what will appeal to them most are the details of the excavations of Yin Hsü (the ruins of the Yin Dynasty), including building foundations, bronzes, chariots, pottery, stone and jade, and thousands of oracle bones, which are vividly shown in historical pictures. These findings transformed the Yin Shang culture from legend into history and thus moved China’s history forward by hundreds of years, shocking the world. The anthology also includes Li Chi’s reflections on central problems in Chinese anthropology, which are both enlightening and thought-provoking.
Anyone But England: Cricket, Race And Class
by Mike MarquseeAnyone But England is a detailed exploration into the origins of cricket; the romance, cultural identity, hypocrisy, flaws of governance and glory of the game. Mike Marqusee, an American who fell in love with cricket when he moved to the UK in the 1970s, looks at the history of elitism and empire, and how race and class have always been issues in the game. Scrutinising the long saga of South Africa's exclusion from world cricket, Marqusee charts England's collusion with apartheid, and also details an eye-opening account of Pakistan's controversial 'ball-tampering' tour of England, which provoked intense debate amongst cricket fans about the role of both the media and racism in the modern game. Showing that supporting the game does not mean you need be blind to its flaws, Marqusee's passion and enthusiasm for cricket is threaded through every element of Anyone But England.Winner of the Aberdare Literary Prize, awarded by the British Society of Sports History, 1994Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, 1994
APCC Special Report: Strukturen für ein klimafreundliches Leben
by Christoph Görg Verena Madner Andreas Muhar Andreas Novy Alfred Posch Karl W. Steininger Ernest AignerDie Klimakrise betrifft uns alle - Doch wie kann ein klimafreundliches Leben für alle erreicht werden? Zahlreiche wissenschaftliche Sachstandsberichte bestätigen schon lange den umfassenden Handlungsbedarf, um die Klimaziele zu erreichen. Dieser betrifft alle Lebensbereiche: von Arbeit und Pflege über Wohnen bis zu Mobilität, Ernährung und Freizeit. Doch wie verwirklicht man solch eine Transformation? Der Bericht unterstreicht, dass die Möglichkeiten, klimafreundlich zu leben, wesentlich durch Strukturen vorgegeben ist. Die vorherrschenden Appelle an das verantwortungsbewusste individuelle Verhalten Einzelner und Aufrufe zu nachhaltigem Konsum werden in ihren Wirkungen überschätzt. Entsprechend ist die Kernbotschaft des Berichts, die gemeinsame Gestaltung von Strukturen für ein klimafreundliches Leben ins Zentrum der Klimapolitik zu stellen. Daher gibt das Buch Antworten auf folgende Fragen: Wie können Rahmenbedingungen so gestaltet werden, dass ein klimafreundliches Leben für jeden selbstverständlich oder zumindest erleichtert wird?Welchen Beitrag können die verschiedenen gesellschaftlichen Akteure leisten? Was bedeutet dies für Recht und Governance, die Wirtschaft, Globalisierung und das Finanzsystem?Können Medien einen Beitrag dazu leisten? Welche Rolle haben Ungleichheit, soziale Sicherung und Raumplanung und welche Infrastrukturen sind notwendig? Dieses Open Access Buch ist das Ergebnis eines umfassenden wissenschaftlichen Erstellungsprozesses, der sich an der Arbeitsweise des Weltklimarates IPCC orientierte: mehr als 80 Autor_innen analysierten die aktuelle wissenschaftliche Literatur zur Gestaltung von Strukturen für ein klimafreundliches Leben. Dazu wurden über 2000 Literaturquellen ausgewertet. Zur Absicherung der Qualität wurden die Ergebnisse der Autor_innen von in etwa 180 Expert_innen und circa 100 Stakeholdern in mehreren Runden begutachtet. Der innovative Zugang und die bisher wenig aufgegriffenen Themenfelder machen das Buch zu einem Standardwerk für die Klimaforschung im deutschsprachigen Raum.
APM Best Practices: Realizing Application Performance Management
by Michael J. Sydor Karen Sleeth Jon Toigo Ed Yourdon Scott E. Donaldson Stanley G. Siegel Gary DonaldsonThe objective of APM Best Practices: Realizing Application Performance Management is to establish reliable application performance management (APM) practices—to demonstrate value, to do it quickly, and to adapt to the client circumstances. It's important to balance long-term goals with short-term deliverables, but without compromising usefulness or correctness. The successful strategy is to establish a few reasonable goals, achieve them quickly, and then iterate over the same topics two more times, with each successive iteration expanding the skills and capabilities of the APM team. This strategy is referred to as “Good, Better, Best”. The application performance monitoring marketplace is very focused on ease of installation, rapid time to usefulness, and overall ease of use. But these worthy platitudes do not really address the application performance management processes that ensure that you will deploy effectively, synergize on quality assurance test plans, triage accurately, and encourage collaboration across the application life cycle that ultimately lowers overall application cost and ensures a quality user experience. These are also fine platitudes but these are the ones that are of interest to your application sponsors. These are the ones for which you need to show value. This CA Press book employs this iterative approach, adapted pragmatically for the realities of your organizational and operational constraints, to realize a future state that your sponsors will find useful, predictable and manageable—and something that they will want to fund. In the meantime, you will learn the useful techniques needed to set up and maintain a useful performance management system utilizing best practices regardless of the software provider(s).
Apocalypse: From Antiquity to the Empire of Modernity
by John R. HallWinner of the American Sociological Association's 'Distinguished Book Award' in the Religion category. For most of us, "Apocalypse" suggests the cataclysmic end of the world. Yet in Greek "apocalypse" means "revelation," and the real subject of the Book of Revelation is how the sacred arises in history at a moment of crisis and destiny. With origins in ancient religions, the apocalyptic has been a transformative force from the time of the Crusades, through the Reformation, the French Revolution and modern communism, all the way to the present day "Islamic Jihad" and "War on Terror." In Apocalypse, John R. Hall explores the significance of apocalyptic movements and the role they have played in the rise of the West and "The Empire of Modernity." This brilliant cross-disciplinary study offers a novel basis for rethinking our social order and its ambivalent relations to sacred history. Apocalypse will attract general readers seeking new understandings of the world in challenging times. Scholars and students will find a compelling synthesis that draws them into conversation with others interested in religion, theology, culture, philosophy, and phenomenology, as well as sociology, social theory, western civilization, and world history.
Apocalypse: From Antiquity to the Empire of Modernity
by John R. HallWinner of the American Sociological Association's 'Distinguished Book Award' in the Religion category. For most of us, "Apocalypse" suggests the cataclysmic end of the world. Yet in Greek "apocalypse" means "revelation," and the real subject of the Book of Revelation is how the sacred arises in history at a moment of crisis and destiny. With origins in ancient religions, the apocalyptic has been a transformative force from the time of the Crusades, through the Reformation, the French Revolution and modern communism, all the way to the present day "Islamic Jihad" and "War on Terror." In Apocalypse, John R. Hall explores the significance of apocalyptic movements and the role they have played in the rise of the West and "The Empire of Modernity." This brilliant cross-disciplinary study offers a novel basis for rethinking our social order and its ambivalent relations to sacred history. Apocalypse will attract general readers seeking new understandings of the world in challenging times. Scholars and students will find a compelling synthesis that draws them into conversation with others interested in religion, theology, culture, philosophy, and phenomenology, as well as sociology, social theory, western civilization, and world history.
Apocalypse Observed: Religious Movements and Violence in North America, Europe and Japan
by John R. Hall Philip D. Schuyler Sylvaine TrinhApocalypse Observed is about religious violence. By analyzing five of the most notorious cults of recent years, the authors present a fascinating and revealing account of religious sects and conflict. Cults covered include:* the apocalypse at Jonestown* the Branch Davidians at Waco* the violent path of Aum Shinrikyo* the mystical apocalypse of the Solar Temple* the mass suicide of Heaven's Gate.Through comparative case studies and in-depth analysis, the authors show how religious violence can erupt not simply from the beliefs of the cult followers or the personalities of their leaders, but also from the way in which society responds to the cults in its midst.
Apocalypse Observed: Religious Movements and Violence in North America, Europe and Japan
by John R. Hall Philip D. Schuyler Sylvaine TrinhApocalypse Observed is about religious violence. By analyzing five of the most notorious cults of recent years, the authors present a fascinating and revealing account of religious sects and conflict. Cults covered include:* the apocalypse at Jonestown* the Branch Davidians at Waco* the violent path of Aum Shinrikyo* the mystical apocalypse of the Solar Temple* the mass suicide of Heaven's Gate.Through comparative case studies and in-depth analysis, the authors show how religious violence can erupt not simply from the beliefs of the cult followers or the personalities of their leaders, but also from the way in which society responds to the cults in its midst.
Apocalypse When?: Calculating How Long the Human Race Will Survive (Springer Praxis Books)
by Willard WellsThis book will be a key trailblazer in a new and upcoming field. The author’s predictive approach relies on simple and intuitive probability formulations that will appeal to readers with a modest knowledge of astronomy, mathematics, and statistics. Wells’ carefully erected theory stands on a sure footing and thus should serve as the basis of many rational predictions of survival in the face of not only natural disasters such as hits by asteroids or comets, but perhaps more surprisingly from man-made hazards arising from genetic engineering or robotics. Any formula for predicting human survival will invite controversy. Dr Wells counters anticipated criticism with a thorough approach in which four lines of reasoning are used to arrive at the same survival formula. One uses empirical survival statistics for business firms and stage shows. Another is based on uncertainty of risk rates. The third, more abstract, invokes Laplace’s principle of insufficient reason and involves an observer’s random arrival in the lifetime of the entity (the human race) in question. The fourth uses Bayesian theory. The author carefully explains and gives examples of the conditions under which his principle is valid and provides evidence that can counteract the arguments of critics who would reject it entirely. His deflection of possible criticisms results from two major premises: selecting the proper random variable and “reference class” to make predictions, and the recognition that if one does not know the law that governs a process, then the best prediction that can be made is his own formula.
Apocalyptic AI: Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality
by Robert M. GeraciApocalyptic AI, the hope that we might one day upload our minds into machines or cyberspace and live forever, is a surprisingly wide-spread and influential idea, affecting everything from the world view of online gamers to government research funding and philosophical thought. In Apocalyptic AI, Robert Geraci offers the first serious account of this "cyber-theology" and the people who promote it. Drawing on interviews with roboticists and AI researchers and with devotees of the online game Second Life, among others, Geraci illuminates the ideas of such advocates of Apocalyptic AI as Hans Moravec and Ray Kurzweil. He reveals that the rhetoric of Apocalyptic AI is strikingly similar to that of the apocalyptic traditions of Judaism and Christianity. In both systems, the believer is trapped in a dualistic universe and expects a resolution in which he or she will be translated to a transcendent new world and live forever in a glorified new body. Equally important, Geraci shows how this worldview shapes our culture. Apocalyptic AI has become a powerful force in modern culture. In this superb volume, he shines a light on this belief system, revealing what it is and how it is changing society.
Apocalyptic Movements in Contemporary Politics: Christian and Jewish Zionism
by C. AldrovandiThis book explores Israeli Religious Zionism and US Christian Zionism by focusing on the Messianic and Millenarian drives at the basis of their political mobilization towards a 'Jewish colonization' of the occupied territories.
Apocalyptic Narratives: Science, Risk and Prophecy (Routledge Studies in Science, Technology and Society)
by Hauke RieschLinking literature from the sociological study of the apocalyptic with the sociology and philosophy of science, Apocalyptic Narratives explores how the apocalyptic narrative frames and provides meaning to contemporary, secular and scientific crises focussing on nuclear war, general environmental crisis and climate change in both English- and German-speaking cultural contexts. In particular, the book will use social identity and representation theories, the sociologies of risk and Lakatos’ philosophy of science to trace how our cultural background and apocalyptic tradition shape our wider interpretation, communication and response to contemporary global crisis. The set of environmental and other challenges that the world is facing is often framed in terms of apocalyptic or existential crisis. Yet apocalyptic fears about the near future are nothing new. This book looks at the narrative connections between our current sense of crisis and the apocalyptic. The book will be of interest to readers interested in environmental crisis and communication, the sociology and philosophy of science, and existential risk, but also to readers interested in the apocalyptic and its contemporary relevance.
Apocalyptic Narratives: Science, Risk and Prophecy (Routledge Studies in Science, Technology and Society)
by Hauke RieschLinking literature from the sociological study of the apocalyptic with the sociology and philosophy of science, Apocalyptic Narratives explores how the apocalyptic narrative frames and provides meaning to contemporary, secular and scientific crises focussing on nuclear war, general environmental crisis and climate change in both English- and German-speaking cultural contexts. In particular, the book will use social identity and representation theories, the sociologies of risk and Lakatos’ philosophy of science to trace how our cultural background and apocalyptic tradition shape our wider interpretation, communication and response to contemporary global crisis. The set of environmental and other challenges that the world is facing is often framed in terms of apocalyptic or existential crisis. Yet apocalyptic fears about the near future are nothing new. This book looks at the narrative connections between our current sense of crisis and the apocalyptic. The book will be of interest to readers interested in environmental crisis and communication, the sociology and philosophy of science, and existential risk, but also to readers interested in the apocalyptic and its contemporary relevance.
Aporias of Translation: Literature, Philosophy, Education (Contemporary Philosophies and Theories in Education #18)
by Elias SchwielerThis book proposes a new way for scholars in, for example, Education, Literary Studies, and Philosophy to approach texts and other phenomena through the concept and practice of translation. Its interdisciplinary perspective makes the book of value for graduate students and scholars in the Humanities and Social Sciences. The unique take on translation as related to the notion of aporia is applied to a number of seminal and classical texts within literature, poetry, and philosophy, which gives the reader new understandings of the workings of language and what happens within and between languages, as well as within and between disciplines, when some form of interpretation or analysis is at work. Importantly, the book develops the notion of aporias of translation as a way to learn and develop our understanding of texts and phenomena, and thus functions as a pedagogical process, which helps us come to terms with the boundaries of language and academic disciplines.
Aporophobia: Why We Reject the Poor Instead of Helping Them
by Professor Adela CortinaWhy “aporophobia”—rejection of the poor—is one of the most serious problems facing the world today, and how we can fight itIn this revelatory book, acclaimed political philosopher Adela Cortina makes an unprecedented assertion: the biggest problem facing the world today is the rejection of poor people. Because we can’t recognize something we can’t name, she proposes the term “aporophobia” for the pervasive exclusion, stigmatization, and humiliation of the poor, which cuts across xenophobia, racism, antisemitism, and other prejudices. Passionate and powerful, Aporophobia examines where this nearly invisible daily attack on poor people comes from, why it is so harmful, and how we can fight it.Aporophobia traces this universal prejudice’s neurological and social origins and its wide-ranging, pernicious consequences, from unnoticed hate crimes to aporophobia’s threat to democracy. It sheds new light on today’s rampant anti-immigrant feeling, which Cortina argues is better understood as aporophobia than xenophobia. We reject migrants not because of their origin, race, or ethnicity but because they seem to bring problems while offering nothing of value. And this is unforgivable in societies that enshrine economic exchange as the supreme value while forgetting that we can’t create communities worth living in without dignity, generosity, and compassion for all. Yet there is hope, and Cortina explains how we can overcome the moral, social, and political disaster of aporophobia through education and democratic institutions, and how poverty itself can be eradicated if we choose.In a world of migrant crises and economic inequality, Aporophobia is essential for understanding and confronting one of the most serious problems of the twenty-first century.
The Apostates: When Muslims Leave Islam
by Simon CotteeThe Apostates is the first major study of apostasy from Islam in the western secular context. Drawing on life-history interviews with ex-Muslims from the UK and Canada, Simon Cottee explores how and with what consequences Muslims leave Islam and become irreligious. Apostasy in Islam is a deeply controversial issue and features prominently in current debates over the expansion of Islam in the West and what this means. Yet it remains poorly understood, in large part because it has become so politicized-with protagonists on either side of the debate selectively invoking Islamic theology to make claims about the 'true' face of Islam. The Apostates charts a different course by examining the social situation and experiences of ex-Muslims. Cottee suggests that Islamic apostasy in the West is best understood not as a legal or political problem, but as a moral issue within Muslim families and communities. Outside of Muslim-majority societies, ex-Muslims are not living in fear for their lives. But they face and must manage the stigma attached to leaving the faith from among their own families and the wider Muslim community.
The Apostates: When Muslims Leave Islam
by Simon CotteeThe Apostates is the first major study of apostasy from Islam in the western secular context. Drawing on life-history interviews with ex-Muslims from the UK and Canada, Simon Cottee explores how and with what consequences Muslims leave Islam and become irreligious. Apostasy in Islam is a deeply controversial issue and features prominently in current debates over the expansion of Islam in the West and what this means. Yet it remains poorly understood, in large part because it has become so politicized-with protagonists on either side of the debate selectively invoking Islamic theology to make claims about the 'true' face of Islam. The Apostates charts a different course by examining the social situation and experiences of ex-Muslims. Cottee suggests that Islamic apostasy in the West is best understood not as a legal or political problem, but as a moral issue within Muslim families and communities. Outside of Muslim-majority societies, ex-Muslims are not living in fear for their lives. But they face and must manage the stigma attached to leaving the faith from among their own families and the wider Muslim community.
Appalachia: A History
by John Alexander WilliamsInterweaving social, political, environmental, economic, and popular history, John Alexander Williams chronicles four and a half centuries of the Appalachian past. Along the way, he explores Appalachia's long-contested boundaries and the numerous, often contradictory images that have shaped perceptions of the region as both the essence of America and a place apart.Williams begins his story in the colonial era and describes the half-century of bloody warfare as migrants from Europe and their American-born offspring fought and eventually displaced Appalachia's Native American inhabitants. He depicts the evolution of a backwoods farm-and-forest society, its divided and unhappy fate during the Civil War, and the emergence of a new industrial order as railroads, towns, and extractive industries penetrated deeper and deeper into the mountains. Finally, he considers Appalachia's fate in the twentieth century, when it became the first American region to suffer widespread deindustrialization, and examines the partial renewal created by federal intervention and a small but significant wave of in-migration. Throughout the book, a wide range of Appalachian voices enlivens the analysis and reminds us of the importance of storytelling in the ways the people of Appalachia define themselves and their region.
The Appeal of Art in Modernity (Classical and Contemporary Social Theory)
by Michael SymondsThis book explores the place of art in the modern world, but instead of asking what art is, it begins with the question of art’s appeal in modernity. Why is the appellation ‘art’ so desired for movies, food, and fashion, for example? Why is there the assumption of esteem when someone calls themselves an ‘artist’? On the other hand, why is modern art so often seen as, at best, difficult and, at worst, not, in fact, art? Engaging with a broad range of theory, the author draws on the thought of Max Weber to offer an account of art’s widespread appeal in terms of its constituting a self-contained value-sphere of meaning, which provides a feeling of tremendous salvation from the senseless routines of modern life. In this way, major theories on aesthetics in philosophy and sociology – including those of Kant, Hegel, Adorno and Bourdieu – are critically recast and incorporated into an overall explanation, and fundamental questions concerning the relation of art to politics and ethics are given innovative answers. A fresh examination of the development of the aesthetic sphere that shows how art came to be regarded as one of the last bastions of freedom and the highest human achievement, and, also, how it became increasingly isolated from the rest of society, The Appeal of Art in Modernity will appeal to scholars of philosophy, social theory, and sociology with interests in art, modernity, and Weber.
The Appeal of Art in Modernity (Classical and Contemporary Social Theory)
by Michael SymondsThis book explores the place of art in the modern world, but instead of asking what art is, it begins with the question of art’s appeal in modernity. Why is the appellation ‘art’ so desired for movies, food, and fashion, for example? Why is there the assumption of esteem when someone calls themselves an ‘artist’? On the other hand, why is modern art so often seen as, at best, difficult and, at worst, not, in fact, art? Engaging with a broad range of theory, the author draws on the thought of Max Weber to offer an account of art’s widespread appeal in terms of its constituting a self-contained value-sphere of meaning, which provides a feeling of tremendous salvation from the senseless routines of modern life. In this way, major theories on aesthetics in philosophy and sociology – including those of Kant, Hegel, Adorno and Bourdieu – are critically recast and incorporated into an overall explanation, and fundamental questions concerning the relation of art to politics and ethics are given innovative answers. A fresh examination of the development of the aesthetic sphere that shows how art came to be regarded as one of the last bastions of freedom and the highest human achievement, and, also, how it became increasingly isolated from the rest of society, The Appeal of Art in Modernity will appeal to scholars of philosophy, social theory, and sociology with interests in art, modernity, and Weber.
Appearance and Identity: Fashioning the Body in Postmodernity
by L. NegrinThis book casts a critical look at the dominant position that fashion has come to occupy in contemporary society. It addresses various aspects of fashion in postmodern culture including makeup, cosmetic surgery, tattoos, ornament in dress and the blurring of gender boundaries.
Appearance as Capital: The Normative Regulation of Aesthetic Capital Accumulation and Conversion
by Outi Sarpila, lida Kukkonen, Tero Pajunen, Erica ÅbergThe ebook edition of this title is Open Access and freely available to read online. In an era of hyper visuality, service-based labour markets, consumer culture, and times of uncertainty, physical appearance plays an increasingly important role in producing and reinforcing social inequalities. Taking a sociological approach, the authors of Appearance as Capital examine physical appearance as a normatively regulated form of capital and explore how it is possible to accumulate and convert capital based on physical appearance. The chapters examine how norms of accumulating and converting aesthetic capital intertwine with gender, age and other forms of capital and play a role in shaping inequalities. Demonstrating how different cultural, institutional, group-specific and situational norms regulate the possibilities of accumulating and converting aesthetic capital, the authors take a critical stance towards an economics-inspired analysis of physical appearance as universally defined ‘beauty’ or ‘attractiveness’ that has standard value for all individuals. By presenting empirical work based in the context of Finnish society, often considered an egalitarian Nordic welfare state, this book provides a fresh perspective on appearance-based inequalities.
Appearance as Capital: The Normative Regulation of Aesthetic Capital Accumulation and Conversion
by Outi Sarpila Iida Kukkonen Tero Pajunen Erica ÅbergThe ebook edition of this title is Open Access and freely available to read online. In an era of hyper visuality, service-based labour markets, consumer culture, and times of uncertainty, physical appearance plays an increasingly important role in producing and reinforcing social inequalities. Taking a sociological approach, the authors of Appearance as Capital examine physical appearance as a normatively regulated form of capital and explore how it is possible to accumulate and convert capital based on physical appearance. The chapters examine how norms of accumulating and converting aesthetic capital intertwine with gender, age and other forms of capital and play a role in shaping inequalities. Demonstrating how different cultural, institutional, group-specific and situational norms regulate the possibilities of accumulating and converting aesthetic capital, the authors take a critical stance towards an economics-inspired analysis of physical appearance as universally defined ‘beauty’ or ‘attractiveness’ that has standard value for all individuals. By presenting empirical work based in the context of Finnish society, often considered an egalitarian Nordic welfare state, this book provides a fresh perspective on appearance-based inequalities.
The Appearing Demos: Hong Kong During and After the Umbrella Movement
by Laikwan PangAs the waves of Occupy movements gradually recede, we soon forget the political hope and passions these events have offered. Instead, we are increasingly entrenched in the simplified dichotomies of Left and Right, us and them, hating others and victimizing oneself. Studying Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement, which might be the largest Occupy movement in recent years, The Appearing Demos urges us to re-commit to democracy at a time when democracy is failing on many fronts and in different parts of the world. The 79-day-long Hong Kong Umbrella Movement occupied major streets in the busiest parts of the city, creating tremendous inconvenience to this city famous for capitalist order and efficiency. It was also a peaceful collective effort of appearance, and it was as much a political event as a cultural one. The urge for expressing an independent cultural identity underlined both the Occupy movement and the remarkably rich cultural expressions it generated. While understanding the specificity of Hong Kong’s situations, The Appearing Demos also comments on some global predicaments we are facing in the midst of neoliberalism and populism. It directs our attention from state-based sovereignty to city-based democracy, and emphasizes the importance of participation and cohabitation. The book also examines how the ideas of Hannah Arendt are useful to those happenings much beyond the political circumstances that gave rise to her theorization. The book pays particular attention to the actual intersubjective experiences during the protest. These experiences are local, fragile, and sometimes inarticulable, therefore resisting rationality and debates, but they define the fullness of any individual, and they also make politics possible. Using the Umbrella Movement as an example, this book examines the “freed” political agents who constantly take others into consideration in order to guarantee the political realm as a place without coercion and discrimination. In doing so, Pang Laikwan demonstrates how politics means neither to rule nor to be ruled, and these movements should be defined by hope, not by goals.
Appified: Culture in the Age of Apps
by Jeremy W Morris Sarah MurraySnapchat. WhatsApp. Ashley Madison. Fitbit. Tinder. Periscope. How do we make sense of how apps like these-and thousands of others-have embedded themselves into our daily routines, permeating the background of ordinary life and standing at-the-ready to be used on our smartphones and tablets? When we look at any single app, it's hard to imagine how such a small piece of software could be particularly notable. But if we look at a collection of them, we see a bigger picture that reveals how the quotidian activities apps encompass are far from banal: connecting with friends (and strangers and enemies), sharing memories (and personally identifying information), making art (and trash), navigating spaces (and reshaping places in the process). While the sheer number of apps is overwhelming, as are the range of activities they address, each one offers an opportunity for us to seek out meaning in the mundane. Appified is the first scholarly volume to examine individual apps within the wider historical and cultural context of media and cultural studies scholarship, attuned to issues of politics and power, identity and the everyday.