... this volume presents a reasonable, fresh, and well-researched reading of several key texts in American studies." -- Journal of the American Studies Association of Texas During the Civil War, a crisis erupted in philanthropy that dramatically changed humanitarian theories and demanded new approaches to humanitarian work. Certain writer-activists began to advocate an "eccentric benevolence" -- a type of philanthropy that would undo the distinction between the powerful bestowers of benevolence and the weaker folks who receive it. Among the figures discussed are the anti-philanthropic Henry David Thoreau and the dangerously philanthropic John Brown.
This book examines the narratives of series heroines that preceded and followed Nancy Drew, each in relation to their social, historical, and economic environments. Covering heroines including Miss Pickerell, Madge Sterling, and Polly the Powers Model, among others, this book illustrates that the recovery of stolen inheritances during the Great Depression serves different social ends than, for example, fighting Germans on an international stage. This book expands scholarship that tends to focus on Nancy Drew by drawing attention to the stories of some other “lost” heroines of twentieth century U.S. series fiction. Organized by time period, the chapters give insight into the cultural landscape that perpetuated the popularity of these heroines in their respective eras, how these series reflected the experiences of readers across the decades, and their continued impact well into the twenty-first century.
Virtue theory, natural law, deontology, utilitarianism, existentialism: these are the basic moral theories taught in “Ethics,” “History of Philosophy,” and “Introduction to Philosophy” courses throughout the United States. When the American philosopher William James (1842 – 1910) find his way into these conversations, there is uncertainty about where his thinking fits. While utilitarianism has become the default position for teaching James’s pragmatism and radical empiricism, this default position fails to address and explain James’s multiple criticisms of John Stuart Mill’s formulaic approach to questions concerning the moral life. Through close readings of James’s writings, the chapters in William James, Moral Philosophy, and the Ethical Life catalogue the ways in whichJames wants to avoid the following: (a) the hierarchies of Christian natural law theory, (b) the moral calculus of Mill’s utilitarianism, (c) the absolutism and principle-ism of Immanuel Kant’s deontology, and (d) the staticity of the virtues found in Aristotle’s moral theory. Elaborating upon and clarifying James’s differences from these dominant moral theories is a crucial feature of this collection. This collection, is not, however, intended to be wholly negative – that is, only describing to readers what James’s moral theory is not. It seeks to articulate the positive features of James’s ethics and moral reasoning: what does it mean to an ethical life, and how should we theorize about morality?
... this volume presents a reasonable, fresh, and well-researched reading of several key texts in American studies." -- Journal of the American Studies Association of Texas During the Civil War, a crisis erupted in philanthropy that dramatically changed humanitarian theories and demanded new approaches to humanitarian work. Certain writer-activists began to advocate an "eccentric benevolence" -- a type of philanthropy that would undo the distinction between the powerful bestowers of benevolence and the weaker folks who receive it. Among the figures discussed are the anti-philanthropic Henry David Thoreau and the dangerously philanthropic John Brown.
This book explores the history of evangelical culture that began during the Great Awakening, revealing its profound impact on the development of media in America.
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