Special Focus: "Omission", edited by Patrick Gill Throughout literary history and in many cultures, we encounter an astute use of conspicuous absences to conjure an imagined reality into a recipient’s mind. The term ‘omission’ as used in the present study, then, demarcates a common artistic phenomenon: a silence, blank, or absence, introduced against the recipient’s generic or experiential expectations, but which nonetheless frequently encapsulates the tenor of the work as a whole. Such omissions can be employed for their affective potential, when emotions represented or evoked by the text are deemed to be beyond words. They can be employed to raise epistemological questions, as when an omission marks the limits of what can be known. Ethical questions can also be approached by means of omissions, as when a character’s voice is omitted, for instance. Finally, omission always carries within it the potential to reflect on the media and genres on which it is brought to bear: as its efficacy depends on the recipient’s generic expectations, omission is frequently characterized by a high degree of meta-discursiveness. This volume investigates the various strategies with which the phenomenon of omission is employed across a range of textual forms and in different cultures to conclusively argue for its status as a highly effective and near-universal form of artistic signification.

Outlander is much more than a television romance about a World War II nurse and a Jacobite soldier in a fetching kilt. The series--and the massive serial novel on which it is based--has been categorized as a period drama, adventure saga, military history and fantasy epic. Inspired by the Irish legends of Fionn Mac Cumhaill and the prophecies of Brahan Seer, the storyline is filled with mythology and symbolism from around the world, from the Fair Folk and the Loch Ness monster to wendigos, ghosts, zombies and succubae. Literary references abound, from the Bible to the classics, to Shakespeare and the English romantic poets. The series is also rich with its own symbolism: heather and white roses, the dragonfly in amber, Claire's blue vase and wedding gown, her wedding rings and pearl necklace. This book untangles the myriad of myths, legends, symbols and literary references found in the series.

A lively and profound analysis of the role of symbols in international relations

Taking an original photographic approach to look in detail at certain topics, these four fascinating books provide deeper understanding and richer enjoyment of the worlds of architecture, art, famous artists, and myths and legends. Features detailed annotation of 45 works from the world''s greatest artists Decode the mysterious symbolism of the world’s most familiar paintings Contains biographical notes on each artistRobert Cumming has been the chairman of Christie''s Education, London, studied art history at Cambridge University, and his books have won several internationalawards and include Just Look, Just Imagine, and Looking into Paintings.

This lovely, full-color guide to tarot provides everything you need to know to read tarot—whether it’s a traditional reading, or a reading for self-reflection or self-discovery. Not long ago, getting your cards read would have conjured images of a mystic shrouded in scarves with a crystal ball, waving her hands over a spread of cards. Today, a tarot reading is as common as going to yoga or texting a friend. It’s the new way to seek guidance—whether that’s relationship advice or what outfit to wear today. With the help of this beautifully illustrated guide, you’ll be able to harness this skill to read your own future in tarot cards. Filled with custom card images and easy-to-understand descriptions of each card and many different reading layouts, The Only Tarot Book You’ll Ever Need will help you to master the tarot, whether your aim is to perform traditional readings, consult the cards as part of a daily self-care ritual, use them for interactive self-reflection, or rely on them as a tool for thinking through particular challenges or questions.

The Kogi Indians of the Sierra Nevada, an isolated mountain massif of northern Colombia, have preserved much of their cultural heritage, notwithstanding the onslaught of outside influences. To the casual observer their austere and withdrawn way of life presents a picture of abject poverty but long-term ethnological study reveals dimensions of inner depth which are evidence of a very rich and cherished tradition going back to pre-Conquest times. Kogi cosmogony and cosmology, their religious philosophy, and their interpretation of nature, as described by men of priestly training, bear witness to a creative imagination of great power. This study tells us of their macrocosm and microcosm; the structure of the universe and the spinning of cotton thread; time-space concepts and the symbolism of a small gourd vessel; biological cycles and temple architecture, and all this within the compass of a sacred mountain which to the Kogi is the centre of the universe. The ethnological importance of this essay is equalled by its value to the Humanities, and opens a new dimension of Amerindian studies.

The first systematic survey of the language planning and language policy discourse of major Arabic language academies.

Perspective determines how we, as viewers, perceive painting. We can convince ourselves that a painting of a bowl of fruit or a man in a room appears to be real by the way these objects are rendered. Likewise, the trick of perspective can prevent us from being absorbed in a scene. Connecting contemporary critical theory with close readings of seventeenth-century Dutch visual culture, The Rhetoric of Perspective puts forth the claim that painting is a form of thinking and that perspective functions as the language of the image. Aided by a stunning full-color gallery, Hanneke Grootenboer proposes a new theory of perspective based on the phenomenological aspects of non-narrative still-life, trompe l'oeil, and anamorphic imagery. Drawing on playful and mesmerizing baroque images, Grootenboer characterizes what she calls their "sophisticated deceit," asserting that painting is more about visual representation than about its supposed objects. Offering an original theory of perspective's impact on pictorial representation, the act of looking, and the understanding of truth in painting, Grootenboer shows how these paintings both question the status of representation and explore the limits and credibility of perception. “An elegant and honourable synthesis.”—Keith Miller, Times Literary Supplement