This volume shows that the cultural production of nostalgia is a major tool for structuring feelings of resentment and anxiety. The current volume is concerned with collective nostalgia as it has been elicited, channeled, and weaponized by media production agents. The book aims to analyze how the performing arts and media (music, cinema, TV, etc.) generate and shape the feeling of collective nostalgia. It shows how the cultural production of nostalgia reflects distinct social-political contexts and serves particular political purposes. The collective monograph prioritizes cases from the post-Soviet context. However, the authors do not argue that the collapse of the socialist bloc in general, and the USSR in particular, has established some unique nostalgic precedent. The book claims that mechanisms of producing nostalgia and marshaling it for political purposes are broadly similar in most (modern or postmodern) settings. It is not our intent to demonize Russia, nor do we want Russia to be our dominant frame of reference, even if, in most of our cases here, 'nolens volens' appeared first in Russia-centric post-Soviet discourse. The “Russian bloc” has been placed in the second part of the book in order to give primacy to non-Russian subjects.

The understanding that humans are relational beings is central to the development of an ethical perspective that is built around the significance of care in all our lives. Our survival as infants is dependent on the care we receive from others. And for all of us, in particular, in older age, there are times when illness, emotional or physical frailty, mean that we require the care of others to enable us to deal with everyday life. With this in mind, this book presents the findings of a project that seeks to understand what wellbeing means to older people and to influence the practice of those who work with older people. Its starting point was a shared commitment amongst researchers and an NGO collaborator to the value of working with older people in both research and practice, to learn from them and be influenced by them rather than seeing them as the ‘subjects’ of a research project. Theoretically, the authors draw upon a range of studies in critical gerontology that seek to understand how experiences of ageing are shaped by their social, economic, cultural and political contexts. By employing a broad body of work that challenges normative assumptions of ‘successful’ ageing,’ the authors draw attention to how these assumptions have been constructed through neo-liberal policies of ‘active ageing.’ Notably, they also apply insights from feminist ethics of care, which are based on a relational ontology that challenges neo-liberal assumptions of autonomous individualism. Influenced by relational ethics, they are attentive to older people both as co-researchers and research respondents. By successfully applying this perspective to social care practice, they facilitate the need for practitioners to reflect on personal aspects of ageing and care but also to bridge the gap between the personal and the professional.

This contribution argues that a long-established social order has been in place since the first stratified societies in the Near Middle East which unavoidably comes with substantial economic, political and environmental repercussions. Part I of the book dissects the various facets of this order, which is termed the social dominance paradigm, while in Part II a fundamentally different order, the peace paradigm, is introduced. The latter rests on real democracy (in the Athenian sense), sustainability and peace. As such, both paradigms function as vehicles for further analysis and research while the peace paradigm also provides a rough plan for the implementation of transformational change. Typically, political, economic, social, and environmental research seeks to increase specialized knowledge. Here, however, the overall intent is to utilize interdisciplinary evidence and connect the dots between a number defining features within seemingly modern societies. The argument is that these are, in fact, not modern at all but follow an ancient template of power, control, and coordination concentrated in the hands of the few. Potentially, this contribution can function as a trans-disciplinary methodological framework as well as an information hub for researchers in the fields of political and social sciences, history, anthropology, evolutionary biology, organization and peace studies. Practitioners who are interested in fundamental social change may also find the issues raised to be of interest. As such, this book provides a generalist, evidence-based discussion of a multi-disciplinary nature that may pique the interest of both experts and amateurs alike.

'Topos in Utopia' examines early modern literary utopias' and intentional communities' social and cultural conception of space. Starting from Thomas More's seminal work, published in 1516, and covering a period of three centuries until the emergence of Enlightenment's euchronia, this work provides a thorough yet concise examination of the way space was imagined and utilised in the early modern visions of a better society. Dealing with an aspect usually ignored by the scholars of early modern utopianism, this book asks us to consider if utopias' imaginary lands are based not only on abstract ideas but also on concrete spaces. Shedding new light on a period where reformation zeal, humanism's optimism, colonialism's greed and a proto-scientific discourse were combined to produce a series of alternative social and political paradigms, this work transports us from the shores of America to the search for the Terra Australis Incognita and the desire to find a new and better world for us.

In recent years classical music has become a test case for debates over the future of culture. As times have changed, the value traditionally placed on this music has been challenged on social rather than aesthetic grounds. Lovers of classical music have been asked how its privileged history can be reconciled with growing demands for social justice and social inclusiveness. They have been asked how the music’s standing as one of the great accomplishments of the West can be reconciled with the many injustices on which those accomplishments in part depended. How can the future of classical music escape the darker shadows of its past? ‘Classical Music in a Changing World: Crisis and Vital Signs’ addresses the crisis provoked by such questions in two complementary ways. Several of the chapters show how the classical music world is already grappling with the crisis, and finding vital signs beyond the borders of the music’s traditional European strongholds: in Turkey from Ottoman times to the present, in Colombia, and in a Black American film. Other chapters identify areas that still need improvement, especially on behalf of female and LGBTQ+ musicians, and suggest how advances can be made both on concert stages and in schools. This volume, which opens with an introduction by Alberto Nones that contextualizes the book and outlines the main arguments of its chapters, contains an essay by Lawrence Kramer that examines the place of classical music in the history of consciousness—a history now changing rapidly—and concludes with a Postscript written by the two editors. The writing in this volume will be accessible to a wide audience, including scholars and students, professionals and amateurs, performers and listeners. Teachers will find it a source of lively classroom debate, and scholars a source of learning outside the usual arenas. The book’s “vital signs” include the accompanying audio tracks (available for download at: https://vernonpress. com/book/1281), which feature vibrant music-making from a diverse range of performers and composers.

Richard Rorty is considered one of the most original philosophers of the last decades, and he has generated warm enthusiasm on the part of many intellectuals and students, within and outside the field of philosophy. The collection opens with an essay by Robert Brandom, in which he continues the discussion of Rorty’s “vocabulary vocabulary” that he began in Rorty and his Critics, and ends with an interview in which Brandom talks about Rorty himself as a teacher and friend. The collection is then divided into three further sections, each addressing an aspect of Rorty’s thought. First, a political section contains several essays discussing Rorty’s notorious “prophecy” in Achieving our Country and the idea that he would have foreseen the rise of a political “strongman.” Also discussed are Rorty's view of the cultural left, his view of the relation between truth and democracy, and Rorty on the concept of fraternity. In a second, epistemological section, several essays address Rorty’s historicism, anti-representationalism, and his views on truth and on religion, often through the lenses of his critics (Putnam, Habermas, Dews). A final section addresses the relations between Rorty and other philosophers such as Hume, Heidegger, and Ortega y Gasset. This works contains valuable essays in three languages — English, Portuguese, and Spanish — and is a small example of the reach of Rorty’s thought and its expansion beyond the Anglo-Saxon world in only ten years after his death. It will appeal to Rorty’s scholars and researchers as well as any student of pragmatism and anti-foundationalist thought.

A point of departure for this book is the paradox between the seemingly limitless promise modern web technologies hold for enhanced political communication and their limited actual contribution. Empirical evidence indicates that neither citizens nor political parties are taking full advantage of online platforms to advance political participation. This is particularly evident when considering the websites of political parties, which have taken on two main functions: i) Disseminating information to citizens and journalists about the history, structure, programme and activities of the party; ii) Monitoring citizens’ opinions in regard to different political questions and policy proposals that are under discussion. Despite the integration of websites into political parties’ “permanent campaigns” (Blumenthal), television continues to be seen as the core medium in political communication and one-way and top-down communication strategies still prevail. In other words, it is still “business as usual”. This book questions whether Web 2.0 could help enhance citizens’ political participation. It offers a critical examination of the current state of the art from diverse perspectives, highlights persisting gaps in our knowledge and identifies a promising stream of further research. The ambition is to stimulate debate around the party-citizen "participation mismatch" and the role and place of modern web technologies in this setting. Each of the included chapters provide valuable explorations of the ways in which political parties motivate, make use of and are shaped by citizen participation in the Web 2.0 era. Diverse perspectives are employed, drawing examples from several European political systems and offering analytical insights at both the individual/micro level and at broader, macro or inter-societal systems level. Taken together, they offer a balanced and thought-provoking account of the political participation gap, its causes and consequences for political communication and democratic politics, as well as pointing the way to new forms of contemporary political participation.

The Bibliographic Index EUGEN EHRLICH is a guide through available materials containing information about the life, scientific, educational, legislative and social activities of the Austrian lawyer and university professor in the period of 1896-1918. Eugen Ehrlich was the Dean in 1901-1902 and 1908-1909 and the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Law in 1902-1903 and 1909-1910, the Vice-Rector in 1907-1908, and the Rector of Franz Joseph University in Czernowitz in 1906-1907 (now Ukrainian: Chernivtsi). Moreover, ex officio, he was a member of the local parliament. The Index includes the foreword of the compilers, an introductory article, a selected basic chronology with the dates of the life and work of Eugen Ehrlich, and the four main structural parts: “List of works by Eugen Ehrlich”, “Eugen Ehrlich as editor”, “Literature about Eugen Ehrlich’s life and activity” and “Appendices: Documents from Chernivtsi University Scientific Library holdings”. “List of works by Eugen Ehrlich”, “Periodicals with Eugen Ehrlich's publications”, “List of used periodicals”, and “Name index” are all provided for the convenience of users. The “Name index” includes all the names recorded in the main text of the publication (numbers of bibliographic records of works devoted to individual persons are enclosed in parentheses). The book contains photographs of Eugen Ehrlich and photographs of materials linked to his life and activities. They have made the bibliographic index more attractive and more interesting for readers. The Index can help users find necessary documents and verify the accuracy of existing information, that it becomes a prerequisite for further research, and finally, it will be useful to all who are interested in Eugen Ehrlich’s life journey and scientific legacy.

This book traces the story of the world's greatest treatise on painting - Leonardo Da Vinci's "Treatise of Painting". It combines an extensive body of literature about the Treatise with original research to offer a unique perspective on: • Its origins, and history of how it survived the dispersal of manuscripts; • Its contents, their significance and how Leonardo developed his Renaissance Theory of Art; • The development of both the abridged and complete printed editions; • How the printed editions have influenced treatises and art history throughout Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, and America from the Seventeenth to the Twentieth Centuries.

Written by an experienced team of practitioners and scholars, this text attempts to fill the gap in texts that specifically address the needs of Learning Disabilities (LD) students in the socioemotional and mental health domains. By providing a foundational understanding of some of the salient issues facing students with learning disabilities, we hope to empower all of those who are working to ensure their success by providing the particular challenges that LD students and their families may face, and strategies and best practices for building creativity, resiliency, prosocial behavior, and positive mental health. As a practitioner and family-oriented text, this book seeks to offer a truncated review of relevant literature followed by suggestions to guide practice.