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Imagining the Soul in Premodern Literature (Early Modern Literature in History)
by Abe DaviesThis book is a study of ghostly matters - of the soul - in literature spanning the tenth century and the age of Shakespeare. All people, according to John Donne, ‘constantly beleeve’ that they have an immortal soul. But he also reflects that in fact there is nothing ‘so well established as constrains us to beleeve, both that the soul is immortall, and that every particular man hath such a soul’. In understanding the question of man's disembodied part as at once fundamental and fundamentally uncertain he was entirely of his time, and Imagining the Soul in Premodern Literature considers this fraught, shifting, yet uniquely compelling entity in the context of the literary forms and effects involved in its representation. Gruesome medieval dialogues between damned souls and worm-eaten bodies; verse and prose works by Donne, René Descartes, Margaret Cavendish and Andrew Marvell; a profusion of sonnet sequences, sermons, manuals of instruction and travelogues; Hamlet and its natural philosophical thinking about the apparently disembodied soul haunting Elsinore: these chapters range across all this and more, offering a rigorous yet accessible account of an essential aspect of premodern literature that will be of interest to scholars, students and the general reader alike.
Imagining the Tropics: Women, Romance, and the Making of Modern Tourism (Critical Caribbean Studies)
by Elizabeth S. Manley Elizabeth ManleyImagining the Tropics is a history of the development of tourism in the Caribbean from the 1910s through the 1970s that focuses on the ways women’s labors of hospitality, writing, and advocacy built the industry and its ubiquitous imagery of tropical island relaxation, escape, and romance. By examining a range of sources, engaging an array of women protagonists, and looking broadly across multiple Caribbean island-states including Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, it seeks to understand how the region came to be sold as a romantic escape from the “troubles” of the modern world. By putting women at the center of Caribbean tourism history—as both its ambassadors and objects of desire—it seeks to explain some of the complicated contradictions that plague the business of pleasure but also to point toward ways of building alternative models to its present and past extractive realities.
Imagistic Care: Growing Old in a Precarious World (Thinking from Elsewhere)
by Cheryl MattinglyImagistic Care explores ethnographically how images function in our concepts, our writing, our fieldwork, and our lives. With contributions from anthropologists, philosophers and an artist, the volume asks: How can imagistic inquiries help us understand the complex entanglements of self and other, dependence and independency, frailty and charisma, notions of good and bad aging, and norms and practices of care in old age? And how can imagistic inquiries offer grounds for critique? Cutting between ethnography, phenomenology and art, this volume offers a powerful contribution to understandings of growing old. The images created in words and drawings are used to complicate rather than simplify the world. The contributors advance an understanding of care, and of aging itself, marked by alterity, spectral presences and uncertainty.Contributors: Rasmus Dyring, Harmandeep Kaur Gill, Lone Grøn, Maria Louw, Cheryl Mattingly, Lotte Meinert, Maria Speyer, Helle S. Wentzer, Susan Reynolds Whyte
Imago Cosmi: The Vision of the Cosmos and the History of Astronomical Machines (Astronomers' Universe)
by Daniele L. MariniThis book takes the reader on an exploration of the Cosmos, from Mesopotamia and Egypt to China; it unveils the fascinating development of astronomy and mathematics. After an overview of the origins of these subjects, highlighting the contributions of Greek astronomers, the Arab culture, and Copernicus' solar system model, the book delves into the revolutionary work of Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, and Isaac Newton, leading to a comprehensive understanding of the solar system. Special attention is given to the instruments used by ancient astronomers, including the most important astronomical clocks and planetary machines. In light of this, the author examines Kepler's almost unknown design of a planetary machine and offers an interpretation using virtual reality techniques. The book also highlights the Chinese view of the Cosmos and the evolution of its astronomy and astronomical machines, offering readers a unique perspective and insight into the relationship between astronomy and technology in different cultures. Finally, the author provides a practical approach to understanding the construction and mechanics of astronomical machines, exploring the process of designing and manufacturing a Tellurium. The reading is enriched with short videos of the Tellurium, along with a translation of the description of the planetary machine by Christian Huygens. In addition, it provides a unique glimpse into the religious influences on astronomical studies during the mid-1700s through the translation of Johann Albrecht Bengel's book Cyclus. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of science and technology. It appeals to astronomers, mathematicians, physicists, and historians of science and technology alike, providing fascinating descriptions and insightful analysis of the vision of the Cosmos from its earliest conceptions to the present day.
Imago Cosmi: Visioni del Cosmo e Storia delle Macchine Astronomiche
by Daniele L. MariniQuesto libro conduce il lettore in un viaggio esplorativo attraverso il Cosmo, dall'antica Mesopotamia ed Egitto fino alla Cina, svelando il fascino dello sviluppo dell'astronomia e della matematica che ha dato vita alla rivoluzione scientifica. Dopo una panoramica sulle origini di questi campi di studio, evidenziando i contributi degli astronomi greci, della cultura araba e del modello eliocentrico di Copernico, il testo si addentra nel lavoro rivoluzionario di Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei e Isaac Newton, offrendo una comprensione approfondita del sistema solare. Gli strumenti utilizzati dagli astronomi, tra cui gli orologi astronomici e le macchine planetarie più significative, sono al centro dell'attenzione, consentendo di comprendere meglio la formazione e la diffusione della concezione del Sistema Solare. Inoltre, l'autore esamina il poco conosciuto progetto di una macchina planetaria di Kepler e ne offre un'interpretazione utilizzando tecniche di realtà virtuale. Il libro mette in luce anche la visione cinese del Cosmo e l'evoluzione della sua astronomia e delle relative macchine, offrendo ai lettori una prospettiva unitaria sulla concezione del cosmo e della tecnologia in Occidente e nell'Estremo Oriente. I dati degli ingranaggi e dei periodi planetari delle macchine esaminate nel testo sono raccolti tra gli annessi web del libo. L'esperienza di lettura è arricchita dalla traduzione della descrizione della macchina planetaria di Christian Huygens e dalla trattazione del progetto e della realizzazione di un Tellurium per comprendere la costruzione e la meccanica delle macchine astronomiche. Inoltre, viene offerta una visione unica sulle influenze religiose sugli studi astronomici del XVIII secolo attraverso la traduzione del libro Cyclus di Johann Albrecht Bengel. Breve materiale video sull'Antikythera, sul Tellurium dell'autore e su quello di Philip M. Hahn completa la documentazione. Questo libro è un must per chiunque sia interessato alla storia della scienza e della tecnologia, appassionando sia gli astronomi, i matematici e i fisici che gli storici della scienza e della tecnologia, fornendo descrizioni affascinanti e analisi illuminanti della visione del Cosmo dalle sue prime concezioni fino ai giorni nostri. Video e documenti disponibili tramite app: scarica gratuitamente l'app SN More Media, scansiona il link con il tasto play e accedi ai video e ai documenti direttamente sul tuo smartphone o tablet.
Imago Dei: The Byzantine Apologia for Icons (The A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts #36)
by Jaroslav PelikanA sweeping account of the controversies surrounding the worship of images in the early Byzantine churchIn 726, the Byzantine emperor, Leo III, issued an edict that all religious images in the empire were to be destroyed, a directive that was later endorsed by a synod of the church in 753 under his son, Constantine V. If the policy of Iconoclasm had succeeded, the entire history of Christian art—and of the Christian church, at least in the East—would have been altered.Iconoclasm was defeated by Byzantine politics, popular revolts, monastic piety, and, most fundamentally of all, by theology, just as it had been theology that the opponents of images had used to justify their actions. Analyzing an intriguing chapter in the history of ideas, the renowned scholar Jaroslav Pelikan shows how a faith that began by attacking the worship of images ended first in permitting and then in commanding it.Pelikan charts the theological defense of icons during the iconoclastic controversies of the eighth and ninth centuries, whose high point came in 787, when the Second Council of Nicaea restored the cult of images in the church. He demonstrates how the dogmas of the Trinity and the Incarnation eventually provided the basic rationale for images: because the invisible God had become human and therefore personally visible in Jesus Christ, it became permissible to make images of that Image. And because not only the human nature of Christ, but that of his Mother had been transformed by the Incarnation, she, too, could be “iconized,” together with all the other saints and angels.The iconographic “text” of the book is provided by one of the very few surviving icons from the period before Iconoclasm, the Egyptian tapestry Icon of the Virgin now in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Other icons serve to illustrate the theological argument, just as the theological argument serves to explain the icons.In an incisive foreword, Judith Herrin explains the enduring importance of the book and discusses how later scholars have built on Pelikan’s work.Please note: All images in this ebook are presented in black and white and have been reduced in size.
Imaro
by Charles R. SaundersForsaken, outcast, warrior . . . Abandoned as a child, Imaro has struggled for acceptance all his life among the warrior-herdsmen tribe, the Ilyassai. Seeking answers and identity, his quest leads him across the vast continent of Nyumbani as he discovers he has powerful enemies, both human and inhuman. Hunted by relentless foes, Imaro becomes the hunter and events preordained before his birth begin to unfold. Powers are stirring in Nyumbani. As Imaro struggles to hold on to his hard-won acceptance, the warrior in him seeks the answer to the question that has haunted him all his life: Who am I?Praise for Charles R. Saunders'A writer of vivid and thoughtful fantasy' - Scott Lynch, bestselling author of The Lies of Locke Lamora'You can't talk African epic fantasy without mentioning Charles Saunders' - Nnedi Okorafor, multi award-winning author of Binti and The Book of Phoenix'One of the godfathers of Afrofuturism and black speculative fiction' - Tananarive Due, multi award-winning author of The Reformatory and The Living Blood'A Literary Lion' - CBC'A whole new flavour of heroic fantasy' - Analog'Saunders' words paint his vivid vision of the mythical continent of Nyumbani ineradicably upon his readers' minds' - TorDotCom'Saunders alone has appreciated the potential of Africa as a backdrop for heroic fantasy' - Publishers Weekly'Terrific epic fantasy' - Cat Rambo, author of You Sexy Thing'A literary trailblazer' - New York Times'The Father of Sword and Soul' - Medium'One of the titans of '70s-'80s sword-and-sorcery' - DMR Books'Imaro opened that world up for me, and I will be forever grateful' - BlackGate'Imaro follows in the footsteps of Conan . . . an epic journey' - Eons
Imaro
by Charles R. SaundersForsaken, outcast, warrior . . . Abandoned as a child, Imaro has struggled for acceptance all his life among the warrior-herdsmen tribe, the Ilyassai. Seeking answers and identity, his quest leads him across the vast continent of Nyumbani as he discovers he has powerful enemies, both human and inhuman. Hunted by relentless foes, Imaro becomes the hunter and events preordained before his birth begin to unfold. Powers are stirring in Nyumbani. As Imaro struggles to hold on to his hard-won acceptance, the warrior in him seeks the answer to the question that has haunted him all his life: Who am I?Praise for Charles R. Saunders'A writer of vivid and thoughtful fantasy' - Scott Lynch, bestselling author of The Lies of Locke Lamora'You can't talk African epic fantasy without mentioning Charles Saunders' - Nnedi Okorafor, multi award-winning author of Binti and The Book of Phoenix'One of the godfathers of Afrofuturism and black speculative fiction' - Tananarive Due, multi award-winning author of The Reformatory and The Living Blood'A Literary Lion' - CBC'A whole new flavour of heroic fantasy' - Analog'Saunders' words paint his vivid vision of the mythical continent of Nyumbani ineradicably upon his readers' minds' - TorDotCom'Saunders alone has appreciated the potential of Africa as a backdrop for heroic fantasy' - Publishers Weekly'A literary trailblazer' - New York Times
Imayamalai
by S. MohanaThe book gives the mythological, historical and geographical details of the Himalayas, the great mountain of India.
Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck
by Adam CohenLonglisted for the 2016 National Book Award for NonfictionOne of America’s great miscarriages of justice, the Supreme Court’s infamous 1927 Buck v. Bell ruling made government sterilization of “undesirable” citizens the law of the land In 1927, the Supreme Court handed down a ruling so disturbing, ignorant, and cruel that it stands as one of the great injustices in American history. In Imbeciles, bestselling author Adam Cohen exposes the court’s decision to allow the sterilization of a young woman it wrongly thought to be “feebleminded” and to champion the mass eugenic sterilization of undesirable citizens for the greater good of the country. The 8–1 ruling was signed by some of the most revered figures in American law—including Chief Justice William Howard Taft, a former U.S. president; and Louis Brandeis, a progressive icon. Oliver Wendell Holmes, considered by many the greatest Supreme Court justice in history, wrote the majority opinion, including the court’s famous declaration “Three generations of imbeciles are enough.”Imbeciles is the shocking story of Buck v. Bell, a legal case that challenges our faith in American justice. A gripping courtroom drama, it pits a helpless young woman against powerful scientists, lawyers, and judges who believed that eugenic measures were necessary to save the nation from being “swamped with incompetence.” At the center was Carrie Buck, who was born into a poor family in Charlottesville, Virginia, and taken in by a foster family, until she became pregnant out of wedlock. She was then declared “feebleminded” and shipped off to the Colony for Epileptics and Feeble-Minded.Buck v. Bell unfolded against the backdrop of a nation in the thrall of eugenics, which many Americans thought would uplift the human race. Congress embraced this fervor, enacting the first laws designed to prevent immigration by Italians, Jews, and other groups charged with being genetically inferior. Cohen shows how Buck arrived at the colony at just the wrong time, when influential scientists and politicians were looking for a “test case” to determine whether Virginia’s new eugenic sterilization law could withstand a legal challenge. A cabal of powerful men lined up against her, and no one stood up for her—not even her lawyer, who, it is now clear, was in collusion with the men who wanted her sterilized.In the end, Buck’s case was heard by the Supreme Court, the institution established by the founders to ensure that justice would prevail. The court could have seen through the false claim that Buck was a threat to the gene pool, or it could have found that forced sterilization was a violation of her rights. Instead, Holmes, a scion of several prominent Boston Brahmin families, who was raised to believe in the superiority of his own bloodlines, wrote a vicious, haunting decision upholding Buck’s sterilization and imploring the nation to sterilize many more. Holmes got his wish, and before the madness ended some sixty to seventy thousand Americans were sterilized. Cohen overturns cherished myths and demolishes lauded figures in relentless pursuit of the truth. With the intellectual force of a legal brief and the passion of a front-page exposé, Imbeciles is an ardent indictment of our champions of justice and our optimistic faith in progress, as well as a triumph of American legal and social history.From the Hardcover edition.
Imhotep the African: Architect of the Cosmos
by Robert Bauval Thomas BrophyA bold study of the ancient Egyptian architect, high priest, and royal astronomer—and his influence as the true father of African civilization.In this groundbreaking book, Egyptologist Robert Bauval and astrophysicist Thomas Brophy uncover the mystery of Imhotep, an ancient Egyptian superstar, pharaonic Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Galileo, and Newton all rolled into one. Based on their research at the Step Pyramid Complex at Saqqara, the book delves into observational astronomy to “decode” the alignments and other design features of the Step Pyramid Complex, to uncover the true origins and genius of Imhotep. Like a whodunit detective story, they follow the clues that take them on an exhilarating magical mystery tour starting at Saqqara, leading them to temples in Upper Egypt and to the stones of Nabta Playa and the black African stargazers who placed them there.Imhotep the African describes how Imhotep was the ancient link to the birth of modern civilization, restoring him to his proper place at the center of the birthing of Egyptian, and world, civilization.Praise for Imhotep the African“An archaeological detective story. Bauval and Brophy make the case that the legendary Egyptian physician, architect, and astronomer Imhotep was not only an historical figure but that he was black. This remarkable book challenges many assumptions about life along the Nile, revealing a worldview and technology that was more sophisticated than anything previously imagined.” —Stanley Krippner, PhD, co-author of Personal Mythology“It is evident to many of their colleagues that Robert Bauval and Thomas Brophy are the dynamic duo of independent Egyptologists. They are to be commended for their scholarship and their dogged determination to present an honest assessment of historical events—even if it flies in the face of conventional dogma.” —Anthony T. Browder, author and independent Egyptologist
Imitating Christ: The Disputed Character of Christian Discipleship
by Luke Timothy JohnsonIs discipleship about personal sanctification or social reform? Believers are divided on a question central to Christian identity: what does it mean to follow Jesus? For centuries, imitating Christ meant the pursuit of holiness, conforming the self to Jesus through self-sacrifice in order to join him in eternal life. But some Christians today consider this model to be self-centered. Instead, they say, true disciples ought to imitate Jesus in confronting corrupt social systems on behalf of the oppressed. In Imitating Christ,esteemed New Testament scholar Luke Timothy Johnson seeks the origin of this fissure. Surveying the New Testament, medieval mysticism, modern theology, and more, Johnson shows how twentieth-century social-gospel and liberation theologies created a new model of discipleship. He then evaluates the theological implications of the two models and asks what we can learn from each. Inspired by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Thomas Merton, Johnson puts forward a vision of discipleship that can revitalize Christian witness in the world today. Replete with keen exegesis and spiritual insight, Imitating Christ reorients Christian living toward pursuing sainthood. Pastors and interested lay readers alike will rediscover a rich heritage in these pages.
Imitation Democracy: The Development of Russia's Post-Soviet Political System
by Dmitrii FurmanExamines the history and functioning of Russia's post-Soviet political system–an &“imitation democracy&”After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia under Yeltsin and Putin implemented a political system of &“imitation democracy,&” marked by &“a huge disparity between formal constitutional principles and the reality of authoritarian rule.&” How did this system take shape, how else might it have developed, and what are the prospects for re-envisioning it more democratically in the future?These questions animate Dmitrii Furman&’s Imitation Democracy, a welcome antidote to books that blandly decry Putin as an omnipotent dictator, without considering his platforms, constituencies, and sources of power. With extensive public opinion polling drawn from throughout the late- and post-Soviet period, and a thorough knowledge of both official and unofficial histories, Furman offers a definitive account of the formation of the modern Russian political system, casting it into powerful relief through comparisons with other post-Soviet states.Peopled with grey technocrats, warring oligarchs, patriots, and provocateurs, Furman&’s narrative details the struggles among partisan factions, and the waves of public sentiment, that shaped modern Russia&’s political landscape, culminating in Putin&’s third presidential term, which resolves the contradiction between the &“form&” and &“content&” of imitation democracy, &“the formal dependence of power on elections and the actual dependence of elections on power.&”
Imitation and Contamination of the Classics in the Comedies of Ben Jonson: Guides Not Commanders (Studies in Performance and Early Modern Drama)
by Tom HarrisonThis book focuses on the influence of classical authors on Ben Jonson’s dramaturgy, with particular emphasis on the Greek and Roman playwrights and satirists. This book illuminates the interdependence of the aspects of Jonson’s creative personality by considering how classical performance elements including the Aristophanic ‘Great Idea,’ chorus, Terentian/Plautine performative strategies, and ‘performative’ elements from literary satire manifest themselves in the structuring and staging of his plays. This fascinating exploration contributes to the ‘performative turn’ in early modern studies by reframing Jonson’s classicism as essential to his dramaturgy as well as his erudition. This book is also a case study for how the early modern education system’s emphasis on imitative-contaminative practices prepared its students, many of whom became professional playwrights, for writing for a theatre that had a similar emphasis on the recycling and recombining performative tropes and structures.
Imitation and Creativity in Japanese Arts: From Kishida Ryusei to Miyazaki Hayao (Asia Perspectives: History, Society, and Culture)
by Michael LuckenThe idea that Japanese art is produced through rote copy and imitation is an eighteenth-century colonial construct, with roots in Romantic ideals of originality. Offering a much-needed corrective to this critique, Michael Lucken demonstrates the distinct character of Japanese mimesis and its dynamic impact on global culture, showing through several twentieth-century masterpieces the generative and regenerative power of Japanese arts.Choosing a representative work from each of four modern genres—painting, film, photography, and animation—Lucken portrays the range of strategies that Japanese artists use to re-present contemporary influences. He examines Kishida Ryusei's portraits of Reiko (1914–1929), Kurosawa Akira's Ikiru (1952), Araki Nobuyoshi's photographic novel Sentimental Journey—Winter (1991), and Miyazaki Hayao's popular anime film Spirited Away (2001), revealing the sophisticated patterns of mimesis that are unique but not exclusive to modern Japanese art. In doing so, Lucken identifies the tensions that drive the Japanese imagination, which are much richer than a simple opposition between progress and tradition, and their reflection of human culture's universal encounter with change. This global perspective explains why, despite its non-Western origins, Japanese art has earned such a vast following.
Imitation in Early Christianity: Mimesis and Religious-Ethical Formation
by Cornelis BennemaWhat did exhortations to &“follow Jesus&” or &“imitate Christ&” mean to early Christians? Cornelis Bennema examines mimesis as a religious-ethical concept in early Christianity—the imitation of Jesus (and other exemplars) to become a better, more Christlike person. Situating appeals for imitation in the New Testament and Apostolic Fathers within the cultural and social context of the broader Greco-Roman world, Bennema shows how early Christian mimesis was not about literal replication, but instead was a creative, cognitive, and transformative means for shaping conduct and character. As part of this study, Bennema explores key questions about the historic origins of early Christian mimesis; the language that early Christian authors used to articulate the concept of mimesis; the scope, nature, and workings of mimesis in each major section of early Christian literature; and how early Christians navigated the challenges of imitating exemplars (such as Paul or Jesus) who were not physically present. Offering well-researched answers to these questions, Bennema provides readers with a nuanced and informative picture of exhortations to imitation in the New Testament and Apostolic Fathers.
Imitations of Infinity: Gregory of Nyssa and the Transformation of Mimesis (Divinations: Rereading Late Ancient Religion)
by Michael MotiaWe do not have many definitions of Christianity from late antiquity, but among the few extant is the brief statement of Gregory of Nyssa (335-395 CE) that it is "mimesis of the divine nature." The sentence is both a historical gem and theologically puzzling. Gregory was the first Christian to make the infinity of God central to his theological program, but how could he intend for humans to imitate the infinite? If the aim of the Christian life is "never to stop growing towards what is better and never to place any limit on perfection," how could mimesis function within this endless pursuit?In Imitations of Infinity, Michael Motia situates Gregory among Platonist philosophers, rhetorical teachers, and early Christian leaders to demonstrate how much of late ancient life was governed by notions of imitation. Questions both intimate and immense, of education, childcare, or cosmology, all found form in a relationship of archetype and image. It is no wonder that these debates demanded the attention of people at every level of the Roman Empire, including the Christians looking to form new social habits and norms. Whatever else the late ancient transformation of the empire affected, it changed the names, spaces, and characters that filled the imagination and common sense of its citizens, and it changed how they thought of their imitations.Like religion, imitation was a way to organize the world and a way to reach toward new possibilities, Motia argues, and two earlier conceptions of mimesis—one centering on ontological participation, the other on aesthetic representation—merged in late antiquity. As philosophers and religious leaders pondered how linking oneself to reality depended on practices of representation, their theoretical debates accompanied practical concerns about what kinds of objects would best guide practitioners toward the divine. Motia places Gregory within a broader landscape of figures who retheorized the role of mimesis in search of perfection. No longer was imitation a marker of inauthenticity or immaturity. Mimesis became a way of life.
Imitations of Life: Two Centuries of Melodrama in Russia
by Louise Mcreynolds Joan NeubergerImitations of Life views Russian melodrama from the eighteenth century to today as an unexpectedly hospitable forum for considering social issues. The contributors follow the evolution of the genre through a variety of cultural practices and changing political scenarios. They argue that Russian audiences have found a particular type of comfort in this mode of entertainment that invites them to respond emotionally rather than politically to social turmoil. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, including plays, lachrymose novels, popular movies, and even highly publicized funerals and political trials, the essays in Imitations of Life argue that melodrama has consistently offered models of behavior for times of transition, and that contemporary televised versions of melodrama continue to help Russians cope with national events that they understand implicitly but are not yet able to articulate. In contrast to previous studies, this collection argues for a reading that takes into account the subtle but pointed challenges to national politics and to gender and class hierarchies made in melodramatic works from both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Collectively, the contributors shift and cross borders, illustrating how the cultural dismissal of melodrama as fundamentally escapist and targeted primarily at the politically disenfranchised has subverted the drama's own intrinsically subversive virtues. Imitations of Life will interest students and scholars of contemporary Russia, and Russian history, literature, and theater. Contributors. Otto Boele, Julie Buckler, Julie Cassiday, Susan Costanzo, Helena Goscilo, Beth Holmgren, Lars Lih, Louise McReynolds, Joan Neuberger, Alexander Prokhorov, Richard Stites
Immaculate Conceptions: The Power of the Religious Imagination in Early Modern Spain (Toronto Iberic)
by Rosalie HernandezImmaculate Conceptions examines devotional writings, religious and literary texts, and visual art that feature the mystery of the immaculacy of the Virgin Mary in the culture of early modern Spain. The author’s analysis is motivated by the complexity and multivalent capacity of the doctrine and its icon at a time when the debates around Mary’s conception imbued all levels of religious and social life. She considers the many interests – political, doctrinal, artistic, and gender-driven – that intersect and compete in the exegesis and textual and visual representations of the Immaculate Conception. She argues that the Immaculate Conception of Mary proved to be a fertile conceptual and ideological field wherein the identities of the Spanish state, local communities, and individuals were negotiated, variously defined, and contested. The study’s broader aim is to delineate a speculative category, the religious imagination, defined as a spiritual, intellectual, or artistic pursuit in which the individual is committed to sacred truth yet articulates this truth through contingent, partial, and contextually determined theological propositions. The representational status of the image and its relationship to theories of physical sight and spiritual vision are central to the author’s formulation of this category.
Immaculate Deception and Further Ribaldries: Yet Another Dozen Medieval French Farces in Modern English (The Middle Ages Series)
by Jody EndersDid you hear the one about the Mother Superior who was so busy casting the first stone that she got caught in flagrante delicto with her lover? What about the drunk with a Savior complex who was fool enough to believe himself to be the Second Coming? And that's nothing compared to what happens when comedy gets its grubby paws on the confessional. Enter fifteenth- and sixteenth-century French farce, the "bestseller" of a world that stands to tell us a lot about the enduring influence of a Shakespeare or a Molière. It's the sacrilegious world of Immaculate Deception, the third volume in a series of stage-friendly translations from the Middle French. Brought to you through the wonders of Open Access, these twelve engagingly funny satires target religious hypocrisy in that in-your-face way that only true slapstick can muster. There is literally nothing sacred.Why this repertoire and why now? The current political climate has had dire consequences for the pleasures of satire at a cultural moment when we have never needed it more. It turns out that the proverbial Dark Ages had a lighter side; and France's over 200 rollicking, frolicking, singing, and dancing comedies—more extant than in any other vernacular—have waited long enough for their moment in the spotlight. They are seriously funny: funny enough to reclaim their place in cultural history, and serious enough to participate in the larger conversation about what it means to be a social influencer, then and now. Rather than relegate medieval texts to the dustbin of history, an unabashedly feminist translation can reframe and reject the sexism of bygone days by doing what theater always invites us to do: interpret, inflect, and adapt.
Immaculate Forms: A History of the Female Body in Four Parts
by Helen King&“Never has medical history been more entertaining&” (Dr Jennifer Gunter, author of The Vagina Bible) than in this turbulent history of women&’s bodies from classical Greece to the modern age Breasts, clitoris, hymen, and womb. Across history, these body parts have told women who they are and what they should do. Although knowledge of each part has changed through time, none of them tells a simple story. The way they work and in some cases even their existence have been debated. They can be seen as powerful or as disgusting, as relevant only to reproduction or as sources of sexual pleasure. In Immaculate Forms, classicist and historian Helen King explores the symbiotic relationship between religion and medicine and their twinned history of gatekeeping over these key organs that have been used to define &“woman,&” illustrating how conceptions of women&’s bodies have owed more to imagination and myth than to observation and science. Throughout history, the way we understand the body has always been debated, and it is still shaped by human intervention and read according to cultural interpretations. Astute and engaging, Immaculate Forms is for everyone who has wondered what history has to say about today&’s raging debates over the human body and who is &“really&” female.
Immaculate Forms: Uncovering the History of Women's Bodies
by Helen KingThroughout history, religious scholars, medical men and - occasionally - women themselves, have moulded thought on what 'makes' a woman. She has been called the weaker sex, the fairer sex, the purer sex, among many other monikers. Often, she has been defined simply as 'Not A Man'.Today, we are more aware than ever of the complex relationship between our bodies and our identities. But contrary to what some may believe, what makes a woman is a question that has always been open-ended.Immaculate Forms examines all the ways in which medicine and religion have played a gatekeeping role over women's organs. It explores how the womb was seen as both the most miraculous organ in the body and as a sewer; uncovers breasts' legacies as maternal or sexual organs - or both; probes the mystery of the disappearing hymen, and asks, did the clitoris need to be discovered at all?
Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters of Michigan (Images of America)
by Patricia MontemurriSince 1845, along the River Raisin in the southeastern Michigan town of Monroe, the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) have distinguished themselves as educators, activists, and Catholic pioneers. At the congregation's peak, the motherhouse dispatched nearly 1,600 nuns to more than 100 schools across metropolitan Detroit and several states. For 175 years, the sisters taught the three Rs and the meaning of faith to nearly 700,000 students and established important metro Detroit institutions such as Marygrove College, Immaculata and Marian High Schools, and St. Mary Academy. Widely known by their initials, the IHMs have extended their reach worldwide. Monroe IHM members have served in key roles at the Vatican, as leaders of organizations representing Catholic sisters in the United States, as missionaries in Third World countries, and as groundbreaking activists and theologians. The Monroe IHMs today also attract lay women and men who dedicate themselves to the congregation's values and goals by becoming IHM Associates.
Immaculate: How the Steelers Saved Pittsburgh
by Tom O’Lenic Ray HartjenAhead of this year’s 50th anniversary of the National Football League’s most unforgettable play, Steelers Hall of Famer Franco Harris’ “Immaculate Reception,'' comes the book Immaculate: How the Steelers Saved Pittsburgh. Immaculate weaves together the historical stories of Pittsburgh and its beloved professional football team like the linear strands of DNA—antiparallel, twisting throughout, and irrevocably connected together.
Immanent Frames: Postsecular Cinema between Malick and von Trier (SUNY series, Horizons of Cinema)
by John Caruana; Mark CauchiFor some time now, thinkers across the humanities and social sciences have increasingly called into question the once-dominant view of the relationship between modernity and secularism, prompting some to speak of a "postsecular turn." Until now, film studies has largely been silent about this development, even though cinema itself has been a major vehicle for such reflection. This fact became inescapable in 2011 when Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life and Lars von Trier's Melancholia were released within days of each other. While these two audacious and controversial films present seemingly opposite perspectives—the former a thoughtful meditation on faith, the latter a portrayal of nontriumphalist atheism—together they raise critical questions about transcendence and immanence in modern life. These films are, however, only the most conspicuous of a growing body of works that call forth similar and related questions—what this collection aptly calls "postsecular cinema."Taking the nearly simultaneous release of The Tree of Life and Melancholia as its starting point and framing device, this pioneering collection sets out to establish the idea of postsecular cinema as a distinct body of films and a viable critical category. Adopting a film-philosophy approach, one group of essays examines Malick's and von Trier's films, while another looks at works by Chantal Akerman, Denys Arcand, the Dardenne brothers, and John Michael McDonagh, among others. The volume closes with two important interviews with Luc Dardenne and Jean-Luc Nancy that invite us to reflect more deeply on some of the central concerns of postsecular cinema.