Although cinema was invented in the mid-1890s, it was a decade more before the concept of a “film spectator” emerged. As the cinema began to separate itself from the commercial entertainments in whose context films initially had been shown—vaudeville, dime museums, fairgrounds—a particular concept of its spectator was developed on the level of film style, as a means of predicting the reception of films on a mass scale. In Babel and Babylon, Miriam Hansen offers an original perspective on American film by tying the emergence of spectatorship to the historical transformation of the public sphere. Hansen builds a critical framework for understanding the cultural formation of spectatorship, drawing on the Frankfurt School’s debates on mass culture and the public sphere. Focusing on exemplary moments in the American silent era, she explains how the concept of the spectator evolved as a crucial part of the classical Hollywood paradigm—as one of the new industry’s strategies to integrate ethnically, socially, and sexually differentiated audiences into a modern culture of consumption. In this process, Hansen argues, the cinema might also have provided the conditions of an alternative public sphere for particular social groups, such as recent immigrants and women, by furnishing an intersubjective context in which they could recognize fragments of their own experience. After tracing the emergence of spectatorship as an institution, Hansen pursues the question of reception through detailed readings of a single film, D. W. Griffith’s Intolerance (1916), and of the cult surrounding a single star, Rudolph Valentino. In each case the classical construction of spectatorship is complicated by factors of gender and sexuality, crystallizing around the fear and desire of the female consumer. Babel and Babylon recasts the debate on early American cinema—and by implication on American film as a whole. It is a model study in the field of cinema studies, mediating the concerns of recent film theory with those of recent film history.
Kracauer. Film, medium of a disintegrating world. -- Curious Americanism. -- Benjamin. Actuality, antinomies. -- Aura: the appropriation of a concept. -- Mistaking the moon for a ball. -- Micky-maus. -- Room-for-play. -- Adorno. The question of film aesthetics. -- Kracauer in exile. Theory of film.
Although cinema was invented in the mid-1890s, it was a decade more before the concept of a “film spectator” emerged. As the cinema began to separate itself from the commercial entertainments in whose context films initially had been shown—vaudeville, dime museums, fairgrounds—a particular concept of its spectator was developed on the level of film style, as a means of predicting the reception of films on a mass scale. In Babel and Babylon, Miriam Hansen offers an original perspective on American film by tying the emergence of spectatorship to the historical transformation of the public sphere. Hansen builds a critical framework for understanding the cultural formation of spectatorship, drawing on the Frankfurt School’s debates on mass culture and the public sphere. Focusing on exemplary moments in the American silent era, she explains how the concept of the spectator evolved as a crucial part of the classical Hollywood paradigm—as one of the new industry’s strategies to integrate ethnically, socially, and sexually differentiated audiences into a modern culture of consumption. In this process, Hansen argues, the cinema might also have provided the conditions of an alternative public sphere for particular social groups, such as recent immigrants and women, by furnishing an intersubjective context in which they could recognize fragments of their own experience. After tracing the emergence of spectatorship as an institution, Hansen pursues the question of reception through detailed readings of a single film, D. W. Griffith’s Intolerance (1916), and of the cult surrounding a single star, Rudolph Valentino. In each case the classical construction of spectatorship is complicated by factors of gender and sexuality, crystallizing around the fear and desire of the female consumer. Babel and Babylon recasts the debate on early American cinema—and by implication on American film as a whole. It is a model study in the field of cinema studies, mediating the concerns of recent film theory with those of recent film history.
Winner of the National Communication Association's International and Intercultural Communication Division's 2014 Outstanding Authored Book of the Year award This book engages the notion of cosmopolitanism as it applies to intercultural communication, which itself is undergoing a turn in its focus from post-positivistic research towards critical/interpretive and postcolonial perspectives, particularly as globalization informs more of the current and future research in the area. It emphasizes the postcolonial perspective in order to raise critical consciousness about the complexities of intercultural communication in a globalizing world, situating cosmopolitanism—the notion of global citizenship—as a multilayered lens for research. Cosmopolitanism as a theoretical repertoire provides nuanced descriptions of what it means to be and communicate as a global citizen, how to critically study interconnectedness within and across cultures, and how to embrace differences without glossing over them. Moving intercultural communication studies towards the global in complex and nuanced ways, this book highlights crucial links between globalization, transnationalism, postcolonialism, cosmopolitanism, social injustice and intercultural communication, and will help in the creation of classroom spaces devoted to exploring these links. It also engages the links between theory and praxis in order to move towards intercultural communication pedagogy and research that simultaneously celebrates and interrogates issues of cultural difference with the aim of creating continuity rather than chasms. In sum, this book orients intercultural communication scholarship firmly towards the critical and postcolonial, while still allowing the incorporation of traditional intercultural communication concepts, thereby preparing students, scholars, educators and interculturalists to communicate ethically in a world that is simultaneously global and local.
Radical ideologies may manifest differently at first, but they do follow a similar logic: truth claims, promises of salvation and a unifying common enemy. In Yemen's transition process today, the secessionist movement Al-Hirak has summoned the spirit of South Yemen, the only Marxist state in Arabia. This book meticulously describes how East Germany supported the implantation of this alien ideology in Yemen through its policy of »Socialist state- and nation-building«. In the same breath, the analysis captures the GDR's activities in the Middle East and their vital role in Moscow's Cold War strategy. Last but least, the study provides one of the few compact overviews of East German foreign policy in the English language of today.
Through a combination of detailed case studies of humanitarian emergencies and thematic chapters which cover key concepts, actors and activities, this book explores the work of the largest international humanitarian agencies. Its central argument is that politics play a fundamental role in determining humanitarian needs, practices, and outcomes. In making this argument, the book highlights the many challenges and dilemmas facing humanitarian agencies in the contemporary world. It covers significant ground-temporally, geographically and thematically. The book is divided into four sections, providing a wide-ranging survey of contemporary international humanitarianism. The first section begins by presenting chapter-length case studies of the international responses to eleven humanitarian emergencies from the 1960s to the present day across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Europe; the second explains key concepts and trends in international humanitarianism; the third discusses how the work of international humanitarian agencies interacts with a range of other actors-including media, celebrities, donors, states, civil society, military forces and armed groups-who have significant impacts on humanitarian response and outcomes; and the fourth turns to the operations and activities undertaken by aid agencies on a daily basis. Ideally suited as a high-level introduction for students of international humanitarianism, the empirical detail and lucid analysis additionally make The Politics and Everyday Practice of International Humanitarianism an invaluable point of reference for more established scholars.
Soil Mapping and Process Modeling for Sustainable Land Use Management is the first reference to address the use of soil mapping and modeling for sustainability from both a theoretical and practical perspective. The use of more powerful statistical techniques are increasing the accuracy of maps and reducing error estimation, and this text provides the information necessary to utilize the latest techniques, as well as their importance for land use planning. Providing practical examples to help illustrate the application of soil process modeling and maps, this reference is an essential tool for professionals and students in soil science and land management who want to bridge the gap between soil modeling and sustainable land use planning. Offers both a theoretical and practical approach to soil mapping and its uses in land use management for sustainability Synthesizes the most up-to-date research on soil mapping techniques and applications Provides an interdisciplinary approach from experts worldwide working in soil mapping and land management
There is increasing evidence to suggest that adaptation to the inevitable is as relevant to climate change policymaking as mitigation efforts. Both mitigation and adaptation, as well as the unavoidable damage occurring both now and that is predicted to occur, all involve costs at the expense of diverse climate change victims. The allocation of responsibilities—implicit in terms of the burden-sharing mechanisms that currently exist in public and private governance—demands recourse under liability law, especially as it has become clear that most companies will only start reducing emissions if verifiable costs of the economic consequences of climate change, including the likelihood of liability, outweigh the costs of taking precautionary measures. This vitally important book asks: Can the precautionary principle make uncertainty judiciable in the context of liability for the consequences of climate change, and, if so, to what extent? Drawing on the full range of pertinent existing literature and case law, the author examines the precautionary principle both in terms of its content and application and in the context of liability law. She analyses the indirect means offered by existing legislation being used by environmental groups and affected individuals before the courts to challenge both companies and regulators as responsible agents of climate change damage. In the process of responding to its fundamental question, the analysis explores such further questions as the following: What is the role of the precautionary principle in resolving uncertainty in scientific risk assessment when faced with inconclusive evidence, and how does it affect decision-making, particularly in the regulatory choices concerning climate change? To this end, what is the concrete content of the precautionary principle? How does liability law generally handle scientific uncertainty? What different types of liability exist, and how are they equipped to handle a climate change liability claim? What type of liability is best suited for precautionary measures or a lack thereof? Can the application of the precautionary principle make a difference to the outcomes of climate change liability claims? In order to draw conclusions concerning the legal uncertainties posed by climate change, the author draws examples from national legislations representative of the various legal systems, as well as from existing treaties. General rules and obligations relevant to climate change liability are examined, and a selection of actual legal cases from around the world concerning climate change, be it actual liability claims or litigation indirectly relevant to a claim, is also presented. As an overview of the different legal challenges created by climate change liability, this book is without peer. The practical meaning and impact of these findings for lawyers (whether corporate or activist), for regulators and policymakers, and for decision-makers in governmental bodies and private companies is immeasurable.
Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2022-510/ Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a large group of substances that have been widely used in articles since many years. They are found wherever extreme conditions prevail and particularly high demands are placed on materials. Their use spans over many different sectors ranging from fire-fighting foams to the manufacture of everyday articles like water-repellent outdoor jackets or stain-proofing agents.On the other side, PFASs are not easily degradable and can remain in the environment for decades. In addition, the use of PFASs has raised human and environmental concerns. In Europe, some PFASs are therefore classified as persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) and very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB) under the REACH Regulation. The following report provides an overview of currently available analytical methods for PFASs in different matrices.
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