A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry’s stunning internationally acclaimed bestseller, is set in mid-1970s India. It tells the story of four unlikely people whose lives come together during a time of political turmoil soon after the government declares a “State of Internal Emergency.” Through days of bleakness and hope, their circumstances – and their fates – become inextricably linked in ways no one could have foreseen. Mistry’s prose is alive with enduring images and a cast of unforgettable characters. Written with compassion, humour, and insight, A Fine Balance is a vivid, richly textured, and powerful novel written by one of the most gifted writers of our time.

This is the first comprehensive text on social psychological approaches to communication, providing an excellent introduction to theoretical perspectives, special topics, and applied areas and practice in communication. Bringing together scholars of international reputation, this book provides a unique contribution to the field.

By focusing on three key aspects of life and change as the European state developed, Peter Blickle brings together a wealth of scholarly experience from all over the continent to discuss the subject's role in State formation. Europe has undergone a remarkable process of democratization sincethe end of the Second World War, shifting the thrust of government policy away from foreign affairs and towards internal matters, and rendering social interest and conflict the driving forces in the historical process. This widespread acceptance of democracy has led to a renewed study of the historyof the estates, and a corresponding increase in debate over the concept of representation. Here the debate is taken further with an examination of the role of the city constitution, and developments in rural settlements. Inextricably linked with the advent of wide-scale representation was an increase in resistance: this book examines the geographical spread of such uprisings, and offers explanations of why revolts were so few in Northern Europe but so prevalent in the Central states. The questions of who gainedfrom the uprisings, and what they contributed to the development of the different forms of representation and community are addressed from a pan-European angle. The cities and villages of the late Middle Ages and early modern period were instrumental in building the political structure of the time. These settlements were determinative of the spirit of community, and a close inspection of these communities throws interesting light on the differences betweenpeasant and burgher morality, and how these norms and values were integrated into the legitimizing of the state. This fascinating work examines the citizen's role in European development with a theoretical and conceptual, but also practical and pragmatic approach. The discussion crosses all national boundaries, and in a Europe which is constantly evolving is a relevant and timely addition to theseries.

All around the world and throughout history, resistance has played an important role - and it still does. Some strive to raise it to cause change. Some dare not to speak of it. Some try to smother it to keep a status quo. The contributions to this volume explore phenomena of resistance in a range of historical and contemporary environments. In so doing, they not only contribute to shaping a comparative view on subjects, representations, and contexts of resistance, but also open up a theoretical dialogue on terms and concepts of resistance both in and across different disciplines. With contributions by Micha Brumlik, Peter McLaren, and others.

Representation and Resistance: South Asian and African Women's Texts at Home and in the Diaspora compares colonial and national constructions of gender identity in Western-educated African and South Asian women's texts. Jaspal Kaur Singh argues that, while some writers conceptualize women's equality in terms of educational and professional opportunity, sexual liberation, and individualism, others recognize the limitations of a paradigm of liberation that focuses only on individual freedom. Certain diasporic artists and writers assert that transformation of gender identity construction occurs, but only in transnational cultural spaces of the first world-spaces which have emerged in an era of rampant globalization and market liberalism. In particular, Singh advocates the inclusion of texts from women of different classes, religions, and castes, both in the Global North and in the South.

This title was first published in 2000: An original explanation for the importance South Africans attachment to ethnic and racial group categories in everyday speech and practice. The answers emerge by presenting a history of dominant and resistance discourses as they relate to collective identity - a move which breaks with prevailing approaches to South African political history, problematises ethnic group categories and offers new ways of seeing old debates.

This book is a clear, systematic, original and lively account of how media representations shape the way we see our and others’ lives in a global age. It provides in-depth analysis of a range of international media representations of disaster, war, conflict, migration and celebration. The book explores how images, stories and voices, on television, the Internet, and in advertisements and newspapers, invite us to relocate to distant contexts, and to relate to people who are remote from our daily lives, by developing ‘mediated intimacy’ and focusing on the self. It also explores how these representations shape our self-narratives. Orgad examines five sites of media representation – the other, the nation, possible lives, the world and the self. She argues that representations can and should contribute to fostering more ambivalence and complexity in how we think and feel about the world, our place in it and our relation to far-away others. Media Representations and the Global Imagination will be of particular interest to students and scholars of media and cultural studies, as well as sociology, politics, international relations, development studies and migration studies.

Social Theory and the Politics of Higher Education brings together an international group of scholars who shine a theoretical light on the politics of academic life and higher education. The book covers three key areas: 1) Institutional governance, with a specific focus on issues such as measurement, surveillance, accountability, regulation, performance and institutional reputation. 2) Academic work, covering areas such as the changing nature of academic labour, neoliberalism and academic identity, and the role of gender and gender studies in university life. 3) Student experience, which includes case studies of student politics and protest, the impact of graduate debt and changing student identities. The editors and chapter authors explore these topics through a theoretical lens, using the ideas of Michel Foucault, Niklas Luhmann, Barbara Adams, Donna Massey, Margaret Archer, Jürgen Habermas, Pierre Bourdieu, Hartmut Rosa, Norbert Elias and Donna Haraway, among others. The case studies, from Africa, Europe, Australia and South America, draw on a wide range of research approaches, and each chapter includes a set of critical reflections on how social theory and research methodology can work in tandem.

This edited collection offers in-depth perspectives into the emergence and development of LGBTQ+ movements in Central and Eastern Europe, including analysis of Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia and Ukraine. The book examines various issues faced by local LGBTQ+ activists, as well as the tactics and strategies which they develop and adopt. The contributors discuss the applicability of Western ideas and concepts to the post-socialist context, considering their ability to fully tackle local nuances and complexities with regards to sexuality and, thus, the dynamics of LGBTQ+ activism. The volume examines differences in the domestic policies of these countries and the consequent effects on LGBTQ+ activism in the region. It also offers important insights into the impact of Western actors in promoting liberal democratic values in the region, and ensuing political and social backlashes. LGBTQ+ Activism in Central and Eastern Europe will be of interest to students and scholars across a range of disciplines, including Gender and Sexuality Studies, Sociology, Anthropology and Political Science.

Artists in the Archive explores the agency and materiality of the archival document through a stunning collection of critical writings and original artworks. It examines the politics and philosophy behind re-using remains, historicising this artistic practice and considering the breadth of ways in which archival materials inform, inflect and influence new works. Taking a fresh look at the relationships between insider know-how and outsider knowledge, Artists in the Archive opens a vital dialogue between a global range of artists and scholars. It seeks to trouble the distinction between artistic practice and scholarly research, offering disciplinary perspectives from experimental theatre, performance art, choreography and dance, to visual art making, archiving and curating.