The book considers some of the solutions proposed by Muslim activists and thinkers in their attempts to renew (tajdid) their ways of life and thought in accord with the demands of the age in which they lived. The two ways of reacting are studied – the movements led by men of action and inspiration, and the thoughts of quietist scholars who laid greater emphasis on calm continuity. These two streams have often collided and particularly so in the contemporary age of greater violence. Other related problems are also considered: how a non-Muslim should regard the religion of the ‘other’; the ways modernization have been dealt with; and the two root causes of Muslim ‘rage’ today – the invasions of the West and the failure to reach an equitable solution to the problem of Palestine. Building on the author’s sixty-year experience researching the history of Islam, the book will appeal to students and scholars across the fields of Islamic studies, religious history and Middle Eastern politics.
Syria has often lacked sympathetic observers. This book tries to interpret the country and its people in terms of how they see their own history and of what they are trying to achieve. More than a political or diplomatic history, it discusses the economy, society, education and culture to help the reader understand and explain modern Syria. A description of the country deals with the physical and other factors which have influenced Syria’s development. An historical survey concentrates mainly on the period after the Second World War and explains why a knowledge of Syrian history is important and why Syrians look at their history in the way they do. The achievements, problems and failures of President Asad are fully discussed. Further chapters explain the ideological factors which have been of vital importance in Syrian politics, the development of education, the economy and society. The author looks at examples of contemporary Syrian literature and the way in which writers view the problems of their society and culture. This is a clear, succinct and readable account of modern Syria which will be essential for all those studying the Middle East, the developing world or international relations.
President Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia was an Arab leader greatly admired in the West for his moderation and level headedness. He led his small country to independence after a prolonged struggle against the French coloniser. He suffered long periods of deprivation and imprisonment before he acceded to supreme rule. His country has much to thank him for but he ruled too long and ended his reign in the tragedy of senility and absolutism. This book is a sympathetic study of a long and fascinating life.
First published in 1989, The Singing Bourgeois challenges the myth that the 'Victorian parlour song' was a clear-cut genre. Derek Scott reveals the huge diversity of musical forms and styles that influenced the songs performed in middle class homes during the nineteenth century, from the assimilation of Celtic and Afro-American culture by songwriters, to the emergence of forms of sacred song performed in the home. The popularity of these domestic songs opened up opportunities to women composers, and a chapter of the book is dedicated to the discussion of women songwriters and their work. The commercial success of bourgeois song through the sale of sheet music demonstrated how music might be incorporated into a system of capitalist enterprise. Scott examines the early amateur music market and its evolution into an increasingly professionalized activity towards the end of the century. This new updated edition features an additional chapter which provides a broad survey of music and class in London, drawing on sources that have appeared since the book's first publication. An overview of recent research is also given in a section of additional notes. The new bibliography of nineteenth-century British and American popular song is the most comprehensive of its kind and includes information on twentieth-century collections of songs, relevant periodicals, catalogues, dictionaries and indexes, as well as useful databases and internet sites. The book also features accompanying downloadable resources of songs from the period.
This book deals with the earliest period of human settlement in Britain, proposing a series of archaeological stages for the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic periods. An introduction on the problems and methods of studying the Palaeolithic and Pleistocene periods leads into the technical argument, a sequence of development derived from evidence of stone artefacts and other signs of human activity at stratified sites in south-east England. Materials from all occupied parts of Britain are related to this basic sequence and, stressing that Britain lay on the edge of the Palaeolithic world, the author also brings in essential evidence from Europe and farther afield. The final chapter suggests the probable way of life of human groups in this period. This broad survey synthesises material from widely scattered sources including museums from all over Britain and has an extensive bibliography. Originally published in 1981.
The phrase "popular music revolution" may instantly bring to mind such twentieth-century musical movements as jazz and rock 'n' roll. In Sounds of the Metropolis, however, Derek Scott argues that the first popular music revolution actually occurred in the nineteenth century, illustrating how a distinct group of popular styles first began to assert their independence and values. He explains the popular music revolution as driven by social changes and the incorporation of music into a system of capitalist enterprise, which ultimately resulted in a polarization between musical entertainment (or "commercial" music) and "serious" art. He focuses on the key genres and styles that precipitated musical change at that time, and that continued to have an impact upon popular music in the next century. By the end of the nineteenth century, popular music could no longer be viewed as watered down or more easily assimilated art music; it had its own characteristic techniques, forms, and devices. As Scott shows, "popular" refers here, for the first time, not only to the music's reception, but also to the presence of these specific features of style. The shift in meaning of "popular" provided critics with tools to condemn music that bore the signs of the popular-which they regarded as fashionable and facile, rather than progressive and serious. A fresh and persuasive consideration of the genesis of popular music on its own terms, Sounds of the Metropolis breaks new ground in the study of music, cultural sociology, and history.
What it was like to grow up in 1980s Britain, from the Cold War to Duran Duran. This book combines memories, original documents and photos from that time.
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