A collection of original articles that explore social aspects of the phenomenon of icon. Having experienced the benefits and realized the limitations of so called 'linguistic turn', sociology has recently acknowledged a need to further expand its horizons.

A collection of original articles that explore social aspects of the phenomenon of icon. Having experienced the benefits and realized the limitations of so called 'linguistic turn', sociology has recently acknowledged a need to further expand its horizons.

Iconic Events: Media, Power, and Politics in Retelling History examines the processes of collective memory surrounding traumatic events that have been deemed iconic in American culture. Leavy investigates the social and market forces that have shaped the meanings around and enduring significance of events that have captured the public's imagination, including Titanic, Pearl Harbor, Columbine, and September 11th. Iconic Events focuses on three interpretive phases that serve to mold public perception of these events: journalistic representations, political appropriations, and popular adaptations. With a vital, engaging approach, Leavy explores the processes by which traumatic events are made mythic in the public eye. Iconic Events is essential for collective memory scholars and undergraduate courses in communications, American studies, history, and sociology, as well as the general reader.

This is the eBook version of the printed book. This Element is an excerpt from Conversational Capital: How to Create Stuff People Love to Talk About (9780137145508), by Bertrand Cesvet, Tony Babinski, and Eric Alper. Available in print and digital formats. How to create products that are truly iconic--and create conversation everywhere they go. The Red Bull can has become a modern-day icon. It took Dietrich Mateschitz and Johannes Kastner more than a year during the company’s start-up phase to design the can. Some might argue that this micro-management of packaging minutiae was an overinvestment in time and resources, but the result speaks for itself. Through such care and attention, product and package design can take on iconic power....

The contributions to Iconic Investigations deal with linguistic or literary aspects of language. While some studies analyze the cognitive structures of language, others pay close attention to the sounds of spoken language and the visual characteristics of written language. In addition this volume also contains studies of media types such as music and visual images that are integrated into the overall project to deepen the understanding of iconicity – the creation of meaning by way of similarity relations. Iconicity is a fundamental but relatively unexplored part of signification in language and other media types. During the last decades, the study of iconicity has emerged as a vital research area with far-reaching interdisciplinary scope and the volume should be of interest for students and researchers interested in scholarly fields such as semiotics, cognitive linguistics, conceptual metaphor studies, poetry, intermediality, and multimodality.

Brimming with vibrant illustrations, transformative practices, and captivating stories from around the world, Animal Power is an enlightening guide to the power of the animal realm. In this luxe compendium, get ready to discover rituals, meditations, and visualizations to connect with 100 remarkable animals. Learn how to connect with the animal power of the bear for comfort and protection, the leopard for confidence, the seal for healthy relationships, and the peacock for creative inspiration, and many others. The practices are paired with illuminating stories from spiritual teachers around the world, plus sidebars with fascinating details on ancient traditions, global mythology, and scientific trivia. Delivered in an enchanting package overflowing with insight and magic, Animal Power is a celebration of the natural world and an inspiring companion for modern mystics, nature and animal lovers, and the spiritually curious. BEAUTIFUL TO GIFT AND DISPLAY: Luxe and eye-catching, this statement package features 100 full-page illustrations and shimmery accents on the case, making it a gorgeous décor object and a beautiful gift for modern mystics, meditators, animal and nature lovers, and the spiritually curious. FUN ACTIVITY: Animal Power offers endless opportunities for interaction and discovery. Users can pick an animal that is resonating with them each day, flip to a random page for inspiration in the morning, or engage with the fun-to-read content during a gathering with a group of friends. ACCESSIBLE TECHQNIUES FOR EVERYDAY LIFE: This book presents spiritual guidance, meditation techniques, and transformative practices in accessible, easy-to-follow entries. People interested in self-care, mindfulness, and personal transformation will enjoy the short practices that can easily be incorporated into everyday life. AUTHORITATIVE AUTHOR: Alyson Charles is a shaman and mystic who has studied with spiritual leaders throughout the world. In this book, she shares her deep knowledge and respect for mystical traditions, providing essential context, scientific facts, and global information on humans' relationship with sacred animals, along with illuminating testimonials from shamanic teachers and practitioners around the world. Perfect for: Modern mystics, Tarot and crystal enthusiasts, Meditators, Yogis, Animal lovers, Nature enthusiasts

Modern business gurus all cry for the need to innovate, to disrupt, and to act like a startup. It’s hard to argue with that kind of thinking. It’s sexy and exciting. But it’s wrong. Too many businesses become enamored by shiny new objects and end up overlooking the value locked away in their existing products. Maybe your business is one of them. Iconic Advantage® is a different approach that allows companies to leverage what they already have to create lasting differentiation and deeper relationships with their customers. It generates disproportionate levels of profit and protects you against market fluctuations. Many of the world’s most successful brands have been using it for years. Now, you can benefit from reaching iconic status, whether you’re a Fortune 500, local pizza parlor, or an aspiring Unicorn startup. “Soon has an uncanny ability to take mysteries and turn them into heuristics. He’s done it on innovation and design, and now with Iconic Advantage.”—Roger Martin, author of Playing to Win and Former Dean of the Rotman School of Business “This book explains why some brands are built to last and others seem doomed to perish. It’s a framework that every marketer can put into play right away.”—Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take, Originals, and Option B with Sheryl Sandberg

This open access book adopts a cultural sociology of materiality to explore the hallmark of the female athlete: the ponytail. Studying a wealth of news articles about ponytails in sports and society, Broch uncovers this hairstyle’s polyvocality and argues that it is a total social phenomenon. By separating his approach from the cultural studies tradition, Broch highlights how hair is imbued with codes, narratives, and myth that allow its wearers to understand, maneuver, and criticize social gender relations in deeply personal ways. Using multiple theories about hair, bodies, myths, and icons, he creates a multidimensional method to show how icons are imitated and used. As women navigate their practical lives, health issues, and gendered expectations, the ponytail materializes their dynamic maneuvering of cultural and social environments. Sporting a ponytail—itself an embodiment of movement—is filled with a performativity of social movements: a cultural kinetics that is never apolitical.

SUNDAY TIMES 'BOOKS OF THE YEAR': 'the book develops into a bigger biography of the strange set of images [Rorschach] bequeathed, taking in everything from the origins of abstract art to the invention of the idea of empathy' – James McConnachie, Sunday Times IRISH INDEPENDENT 'BOOKS OF THE YEAR' The captivating, untold story of Hermann Rorschach and his famous inkblot test, which has shaped our view of human personality and become a fixture in popular culture. In 1917, working alone in a remote Swiss asylum, psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach devised an experiment to probe the human mind. He had come to believe that who we are is less a matter of what we say, as Freud thought, than what we see. Rorschach himself was a talented illustrator, and his test, a set of ten carefully designed inkblots, quickly made its way to America, where it took on a life of its own. Co-opted by the military after Pearl Harbor, Rorschach’s test was a fixture at the Nuremberg trials and in the jungles of Vietnam. It became an advertising staple, a cliché in Hollywood and journalism, and an inspiration to everyone from Andy Warhol to Jay-Z. The test was also taken by millions of defendants, job applicants, parents in custody battles and people suffering from mental illness – or simply trying to understand themselves better. And it is still used today. Damion Searls draws on untranslated letters and diaries, and a cache of previously unknown interviews with Rorschach’s family, friends and colleagues, to tell the unlikely story of the test’s creation, its controversial reinvention and its remarkable endurance. Elegant and original, The Inkblots shines a light on the twentieth century’s most visionary synthesis of art and science.