Middle Class Union argues that the period following World War I was a pivotal moment in the development of middle-class consumer politics in the 20th century. At this time, middle-class Americans politically mobilized to define for society what was fair in the growing consumer marketplace. They projected themselves as guardians of the producerist values of hard work, honesty, and thrift, and called for greater adherence to them among the working and elite classes. In this era and in later periods, they flexed their muscles as consumers, and claimed to defend the values of the nation. Combining social history with interdisciplinary approaches to the study of consumption and symbolic space, Middle Class Union illustrates how acts of consumption, representations of the middle class in literary, journalistic, and artistic discourses, and ground-level organizing combined to enable white-collar activists to establish themselves as both the middle class and the backbone of the nation. This book contributes to labor history by examining the nexus of class and consumption to show how many white-collar workers drew on their consumer identity to express an anti-labor politics, later facilitating the struggles of unions throughout the post–World War I years. It also contributes to political history by emphasizing how these middle-class activists laid important groundwork for both 1920s business conservatism and New Deal liberalism. They exerted their political influence well before the post–World War II period, when a self-interested and powerful middle-class consumer identity is more widely acknowledged to have taken hold.
As we approach the bicentennial, in 2017, of the birth of Henry David Thoreau, there is considerable debate and confusion as to what he may, or may not have, contributed to American life and culture. Almost every American has heard of Thoreau, but only a few are aware that he was deeply engaged with most of the important issues of his day, from slavery to “Manifest Destiny” and the rights of the individual in a democratic society. Many of these issues are still affecting us today, as we move toward the second quarter of the twenty-first century. By studying how various American artists have chosen to portray Thoreauover the years since the publication of Walden in 1854, we can gain a clear understanding of how he has been interpreted (or misinterpreted) throughout the years since his death in 1862. But along the way, we might also find something useful, for our times, in the insights that Thoreau gained as he wrestled with the most urgent problems being experienced by American society in his day.
More than any other theological tradition, Reformed federalism has recognized the importance of the biblical teaching on the covenants in its system of doctrine. This tradition came to mature confessional status in the writing of the Westminster Confession of Faith (and Catechisms). The place of the Westminster tradition within the stream of Christian history and theology is remarkable indeed. Westminster not only gained recognition as the epitome of Calvinist teaching at the close of the Protestant Reformation (the middle of the seventeenth century), it also earned the reputation for precision and comprehensiveness in doctrinal formulation. It became the measure by which biblical interpreters defended their systems of doctrine Ð either in agreement or disagreement with the theology of the Westminster divines. These writings are the climax of three decades of research and study, and they appear as the third in the series of collections published by Wipf and Stock, beginning with Covenant Theology in Reformed Perspective, followed by Gospel Grace: The Modern-day Controversy. The critical teaching in dispute in each of these studies is the classic Protestant antithesis between the Law and the Gospel, what serves as the basis for the Reformed doctrine of the twofold covenants, the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace. Protestant-Reformed Orthodoxy now stands at the crossroads; the plight of Westminster Seminary (East and West) is merely illustrative of the depth and the intensity of the contemporary theological dispute, one impacting the future of Protestant evangelicalism as a whole. The battle is between historic Reformed-Protestantism and modern-day revisionism of a radical sort. The rapid rise of postmodernism (or nonfoundationalism) is indicative of the rapidly changing mood and posture in (Òevangelical) biblical scholarship at the opening of this third millennium of Christian interpretation. Without question, the modern church continues to loose her biblical moorings. Forsaking the basic theological convictions of the Protestant Reformation it has attempted to subject the Word of God to vigorous academic (i.e., Òscientific) investigation (the return of rationalism). In doing so, it has abandoned the Scripture principle, which recognizes the uniquely authoritative and inerrant character of the Word of God. Lost in the shuffle is the uncompromising proclamation of the one, true Gospel Ð the Gospel of justification by grace through faith alone. Lost also is the doctrine of the perspicuity of Scripture. Nothing less than a new Reformation in our day will halt travel down the road leading to destruction. --From the Preface
North of the River is a exciting and graphic tale of a young Army officer's first tour of duty in the Korean DMZ of 1969. The fact that a low grade war was being fought in Korea at that time is generally unknown to most of the American people. This story provides a fascinating and revealing tale, full of humor, adventure, romance, and an accurate picture of military life and life as a Red Cross "Doughnut Dolly" in this little know theater. It moves quickly through a thirteen month tour until the reader crashes head on into the surprise, action filled conclusion.
In 1904-1905 Max Weber published the sociological classic "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism." In this book Weber argues that religion, specifically "ascetic Protestantism" provided the essential social and cultural infrastructure that led to modern capitalism. Weber's suggests that Protestantism has "an affinity for capitalism." Indeed, something within Protestantism-by accident or design-creates the necessary preconditions that lead to the flowering of a just, free, and prosperous society. At the same time, Weber wonders if the economic backwardness of certain societies and regions of the world are somehow related to their religious affiliation. Weber's century old thesis challenges the erroneous core assumptions of many secular humanists, postmoderns, Roman Catholic traditionalists, and Islamists. In view of the threat of the War on Terror, and in the face of the inadequate response of secularist and post-modern intellectuals, it is vital that we understand and appreciate the profound paradigm shift that occurred during the sixteenth and seventeenth century that led to the unfolding of modern capitalism. Despite a plethora of critics Max Weber's one-hundred year old thesis still stands.
The Court in English Alliterative Poetry, 1350-1450 explores certain links between literature and society in the portrayal of courtly society in a group of alliterative texts: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Awntyrs off Arthure at the Terne Wathelyn, Morte Arthure, Wars of Alexander and the Gest Historiale of the Destruction of Troy. The book examines the social function of the texts and how they affect their audience.
This book presents comprehensive, thorough and updated analyses of key cognitive individual difference factors (e.g., age, intelligence, language aptitude, working memory, metacognition, learning strategies, and anxiety) as they relate to the acquisition, processing, assessment, and pedagogy of second or foreign languages. Critical reviews and in-depth research syntheses of these pivotal cognitive learner factors are put into historical and broader contexts, drawing upon the multiple authors' extensive research experience, penetrating insights and unique perspectives spanning applied linguistics, teacher training, educational psychology, and cognitive science. The carefully crafted chapters provide essential course readings and valuable references for seasoned researchers and aspiring postgraduate students in the broad fields of instructed second language acquisition, foreign language training, teacher education, language pedagogy, educational psychology, and cognitive development.
This first book-length critical study of Jeremy Irons concentrates on his key performances and acting style. Through the analysis of some of the major screen roles in Irons’s career, such as Brideshead Revisited, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Reversal of Fortune, Swann in Love, Dead Ringers and Lolita, Mark Nicholls identifies a new masculine identity that unites them: an emblematic figure of the 1980s and 1990s presented as an alternative to the action hero or the common man. Using clear explanations of complex theoretical ideas, this book investigates Jeremy Irons’s performances through the lens of sexual inversion and social rebellion, to uncover an entirely original but recognizable screen type.
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