Various cultural theories (foremost among them, postmodernism) have figured in the debate over the politics of representation. These theories have tended to look at representation in the context of either audience enablement or commercial constraint; that is, do the images empower the public or inhibit it? One key area consistently overlooked has the been the study of subcultural or subordinate groups who appropriate what is traditionally considered "mainstream." The Madonna Connection is the first book to address the complexities of race, gender, and sexuality in popular culture by using the influence of a cultural heroine to advance cultural theory. Madonna's use of various media—music, concert tour, film, and video—serves as a paradigm by which the authors study how images and symbols associated with subcultural groups (multiracial, gay and lesbian, feminist) are smuggled into the mainstream. Using a range of critical and interpretive approaches to this evolving and lively cultural phenomenon, the authors demonstrate the importance of personalities like Madonna to issues of enablement and constraint. Are "others" given voice by political interventions in mass popular culture? Or is their voice co-opted to provide mere titillation and maximum profit? What might the interplay of these views suggest? These are some of the questions the authors attempt to answer. Some celebrate Madonna's affirmation of cultural diversity. Others criticize her flagrant self-marketing strategies. And still others regard her as only a provisional challenge to the mainstream.
The last two decades have transformed the field of Renaissance studies, and Reconceiving the Renaissance: A Critical Reader maps this difficult terrain. Attending to the breadth of fresh approaches, the volume offers a theoretical overview of current thinking about the period. Collecting in one volume the classic and cutting-edge statements which define early modern scholarship as it is now practised, this book is a one-stop indispensable resource for undergraduates and beginning postgraduates alike. Through a rich array of arguments by the world's leading experts, the Renaissance emerges wonderfully invigorated, while the suggestive shorter extracts, topical questions and engaged editorial introductions give students the wherewithal and encouragement to do some reconceiving themselves.
The fascinating story of the historic Elmwood District is told for the first time, from the arrival on the Niagara Frontier of Joseph Ellicott, through the role played by Fredrick Law Olmsted' s parks and parkways, and into the decline and renewal during modern era. This lushly illustrated book educates and enlightens, telling the stories of the people who gave Elmwood its enduring character, transforming it from dense forest into one of America' s top ten neighborhoods.
Trusting as the moments fly, Trusting as the days go by; Trusting Him whate’er befall, Trusting Jesus, that is all. --from the classic hymn "Trusting Jesus" This faith-building devotional compilation will enhance your spiritual journey as you learn to trust Jesus completely with your whole heart. Dozens of devotions will inspire you to become just who God created you to be—a woman of confidence, a woman of beauty, a woman of joy, a woman of tranquility. . . . Trusting Jesus Every Day: Devotions to Increase a Woman's Faith will not only inspire, but will also encourage you to give all that you are, and all that you have to Jesus. . .every day.
Immerse yourself in the first two novels of the Banished Saga, where romance, honor, a duty to family, and a desire to live a fulfilled life play out against the backdrop of turn-of the century Boston and Montana. NO cliffhanger when read together. BANISHED LOVE (Banished Saga, Book One) I’m suffocating under the weight of others’ expectations. If I have to sit through one more afternoon tea, listening to my simpering stepmother extoll the benefits of traditional roles for women, I fear I’ll scream, “The world is changing. It’s 1900!” I want more from life than she can imagine. If she knew of my interest in Gabriel, she’d have a fit of the vapors. She’d bemoan his humble beginnings and lack of wealth rather than recognize his integrity or his loyalty to his brothers. If she saw how he stares at me, as though I’m a puzzle he’s trying to solve, she’d lock me in my room. He fascinates me, as no one has since that awful day. How can we surmount society’s prejudices and allow our love to grow? RECLAIMED LOVE (Banished Saga, Book Two) Committed… To living a life she desires with the man she loves, Clarissa Sullivan continues to teach poor, immigrant children and to agitate for the vote for women as she awaits Gabriel’s return to Boston. Will her stepmother leave her in peace or is her life about to change again in unforeseen ways? Convinced…. Clarissa is the woman he now wants to marry, Cameron Wright renews his pursuit of her. Charming, wealthy and well-bred, he is perceived as the ideal gentleman for a blacksmith’s daughter. With Gabriel far from Boston and his return uncertain, why should Clarissa continue to reject Cameron? Devastated… After his banishment from Boston, Gabriel McLeod forges a new life in a remarkable city. Will the memories of the love he shared with Clarissa sustain him? Will Clarissa overcome deceit and treachery and reclaim her love? Novels in the Banished Saga: Love's First Flames (Banished Saga, Prequel, Book 0.5) Banished Love (Banished Saga, Book 1) Reclaimed Love(Banished Saga, Book 2) Undaunted Love, Part One (Banished Saga, Book 3) Undaunted Love, Part Two (Banished Saga, Book 3.5) Tenacious Love (Banished Saga, Book 4) Unrelenting Love (Banished Saga, Book 5) Escape to Love (Banished Saga, Book 6) Resilient Love (Banished Saga, Book 7)-- Fall 2017 With More to Come!
Unwavering In his love for his wife, Teddy Goff must find a way to help Zylphia fight her demons. Can Zylphia overcome the traumas of her past and find joy again with Teddy? Adamant: In his determination to protect his wife, Jeremy McLeod unwittingly exposes Savannah to a foe he cannot fight. Will Jeremy succeed in shielding his family from harm? Unyielding In his desire to finally declare his love for Araminta, Colin Sullivan is foiled as her interest lies with another. What is Colin willing to sacrifice for the woman he loves? As local and national events attempt to tear them apart, they learn that an abiding love is the most important love of all.
Before Madonna, before Marilyn, there was Mae. The impact of Mae West - through her films, attitude, and aphorisms ("Too much of a good thing can be wonderful"; "Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?") - continues to reverberate through American popular culture more than fifteen years after her death. In Too Much of a Good Thing, Ramona Curry examines the interplay between West's bawdy, worldly persona and twentieth-century gender and media politics. Although West has remained an important figure, her image has fulfilled varied cultural functions. In the thirties, she was a lightning rod for debates over morality and censorship. In the seventies, the complexity of her portrayal of gender made her a controversial figure for both the gay rights and feminist movements. Curry not only analyzes the symbolic roles West has occupied, arguing that the entertainer represents a carefully orchestrated transgression of race, class, and gender expectations, she also illustrates how icons of pop culture often distill contested social issues, serving diverse and even contradictory political functions. A pithy and innovative look at what Mae West means, Too Much of a Good Thing is must reading for fans, film buffs, and anyone interested in how popular culture evolves and circulates in the United States.
Located in one of the Palmetto State's most picturesque regions, Georgetown County is a beautiful coastal county full of rich African- American traditions and a distinct Gullah heritage, from its roots in the antebellum South to the present. An integral part of the identity of the Lowcountry, the black community has played a prominent role in the successful development of the county over the years, and this volume serves to highlight and celebrate the county's people and their achievements, highlighting recognizable citizens and families, both prominent and everyday.
Broken: In spirit by the death of her daughter and by disillusionment with her marriage, Savannah Montgomery must find the strength to rediscover her sense of self-worth. Living in a mansion in Boston’s Back Bay, surrounded by maids, she’s learned wealth alone will not bring happiness. Submerged in a deep depression, a chance encounter brings friendship into her life. Will her friend’s faith in her embolden her to embrace a newly envisioned future? Disillusioned: By his actions in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War, Jeremy McLeod believes he will continue to battle the darkness alone. Returning home to Boston’s North End, wounded in body and spirit, he consigns himself to a solitary life. Working in his brother’s workshop brings much needed solace, but will it be enough? Dedicated: To forging a life with her husband Gabriel, in Montana, Clarissa McLeod is determined to fulfill her role as wife. When actions from her past continue to haunt her present and threaten her future, will Clarissa trust in her husband’s love and surmount her deepest fears? Undaunted Love follows the McLeod, Sullivan, and Russell families as they struggle against injustice, persevere against loss and betrayal, and learn that the strongest bonds are the ones forged by loyalty and love.
Happiness and connection prove fickle in this debut collection of eleven linked stories introducing Babbie and Donnie. She is a thrice-divorced former call girl, and he is a sobriety-challenged trucker turned yogi. Along with their community of exes, in-laws, and coworkers, Babbie and Donnie share a longing to reforge their lives, a task easier said than done in Mobile, Alabama, which bears its own share of tainted history. Despite overwhelming challenges and the ever-looming specters of status, race, and class, the characters in It Falls Gently All Around and Other Stories strive for versions of the American dream through modern and often unconventional means. Told with humor and honesty, these stories remind us not only about the fallibility of being human and the resistance of some to change but also about finding redemption in unlikely places.
Longlisted for the National Book Award This blood-chilling debut set in New Mexico’s Navajo Nation is equal parts gripping crime thriller, supernatural horror, and poignant portrayal of coming of age on the reservation. "A haunting thriller, written with exquisite suspense . . . This is a story that won't let you go long after you finish, and you won't want it to end even as you can't stop reading to find out how it does." —Tommy Orange, author of There There Rita Todacheene is a forensic photographer working for the Albuquerque police force. Her excellent photography skills have cracked many cases—she is almost supernaturally good at capturing details. In fact, Rita has been hiding a secret: she sees the ghosts of crime victims who point her toward the clues that other investigators overlook. As a lone portal back to the living for traumatized spirits, Rita is terrorized by nagging ghosts who won’t let her sleep and who sabotage her personal life. Her taboo and psychologically harrowing ability was what drove her away from the Navajo reservation, where she was raised by her grandmother. It has isolated her from friends and gotten her in trouble with the law. And now it might be what gets her killed. When Rita is sent to photograph the scene of a supposed suicide on a highway overpass, the furious, discombobulated ghost of the victim—who insists she was murdered—latches onto Rita, forcing her on a quest for revenge against her killers, and Rita finds herself in the crosshairs of one of Albuquerque’s most dangerous cartels. Written in sparkling, gruesome prose, Shutter is an explosive debut from one of crime fiction's most powerful new voices.
The question of why Plato censored poetry in his Republic has bedeviled scholars for centuries. In Exiling the Poets, Ramona A. Naddaff offers a strikingly original interpretation of this ancient quarrel between poetry and philosophy. Underscoring not only the repressive but also the productive dimension of literary censorship, Naddaff brings to light Plato's fundamental ambivalence about the value of poetic discourse in philosophical investigation. Censorship, Nadaff argues, is not merely a mechanism of silencing but also provokes new ways of speaking about controversial and crucial cultural and artistic events. It functions philosophically in the Republic to subvert Plato's most crucial arguments about politics, epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics. Naddaff develops this stunning argument through an extraordinary reading of Plato's work. In books 2 and 3, the first censorship of poetry, she finds that Plato constitutes the poet as a rival with whom the philosopher must vie agonistically. In other words, philosophy does not replace poetry, as most commentators have suggested; rather, the philosopher becomes a worthy and ultimately victorious poetic competitor. In book 10's second censorship, Plato exiles the poets as a mode of self-subversion, rethinking and revising his theory of mimesis, of the immortality of the soul, and, most important, the first censorship of poetry. Finally, in a subtle and sophisticated analysis of the myth of Er, Naddaff explains how Plato himself censors his own censorships of poetry, thus producing the unexpected result of a poetically animated and open-ended dialectical philosophy.
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