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Indians on the Move: Native American Mobility and Urbanization in the Twentieth Century (Critical Indigeneities)
by Douglas K. MillerIn 1972, the Bureau of Indian Affairs terminated its twenty-year-old Voluntary Relocation Program, which encouraged the mass migration of roughly 100,000 Native American people from rural to urban areas. At the time the program ended, many groups--from government leaders to Red Power activists--had already classified it as a failure, and scholars have subsequently positioned the program as evidence of America's enduring settler-colonial project. But Douglas K. Miller here argues that a richer story should be told--one that recognizes Indigenous mobility in terms of its benefits and not merely its costs. In their collective refusal to accept marginality and destitution on reservations, Native Americans used the urban relocation program to take greater control of their socioeconomic circumstances. Indigenous migrants also used the financial, educational, and cultural resources they found in cities to feed new expressions of Indigenous sovereignty both off and on the reservation. The dynamic histories of everyday people at the heart of this book shed new light on the adaptability of mobile Native American communities. In the end, this is a story of shared experience across tribal lines, through which Indigenous people incorporated urban life into their ideas for Indigenous futures.
Indians, Cattle, Ships, and Oil: The Story of W. M. D. Lee
by Donald F. SchofieldIndian trader, rancher, harbor developer, oil impresario—these are the many worlds of one of the least chronicled but most fascinating characters of the American West. In the early, bustling years of the frontier, a brazen young man named William McDole Lee moved from Wisconsin to Kansas and then to Texas to forge a life for himself. Becoming a driving entrepreneurial force in Texas's development, Lee soon garnered the alliances and resources necessary to shape the financial destinies of disparate groups throughout the state. His story is expertly told in Donald F. Schofield's Indians, Cattle, Ships, and Oil. Beginning in 1869 as a trader to the southern Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes and fort provisioner to troops garrisoned at Camp Supply, Indian Territory, Lee gained a partner and amassed a fortune in short order from trading buffalo hides and robes. Vast herds of buffalo grazing on the southern plains were killed largely on his order. When buffalo were no longer a profitable commodity, Lee tackled his next challenge—the cattle trade. He began with herds branded LR that grazed on pastures near Fort Supply. Then came his LE herd in the Texas Panhandle. Another partnership, with noted cattle rancher Lucien Scott, resulted in the vast LS ranch, one of the most successful operations of its day. Lee even introduced a new breed of cattle, the Aberdeen-Angus, to the western range. But as his partnership faded, Lee moved on to his next undertaking—the development of Texas' first deep-water harbor. In 1888, Lee and other financiers put up one million dollars to finance a dream: opening international trade from the waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the mainland at the mouth of the Brazos River. Their Brazos River Channel and Dock Company was to construct, own, and operate a deep-water harbor at Velasco, with a railroad link to Houston. Though threats of financial disaster loomed large, the Velasco facility was to welcome, in its day, tugs, barges, and three-masted schooners and to provide impetus for Houston's boom. Yet with success, the mercurial Lee turned to yet another challenge—oil. Starting still another partnership, Lee committed himself to prospecting for oil on the West Columbia Ridge in Brazoria County. Lee and crew struck oil in 1907, developing one of the first producing wells of Brazoria County, but inadequate drilling equipment hampered further fruitful exploration. Lee moved his rigs to the famed Spindletop, where he perfected the technique of shallow drilling. Though spectacular success in the oil business eluded him, Lee's accomplishments set him squarely among the great entrepreneurs of the Texas oil industry. Lee's exploits led him to roles in some of the most dramatic moments in Texas and the West—Indian uprisings, buffalo hunts, political scandals, cowboy strikes and shoot-outs, railroad promotions, oil-well blow-outs and gushers. The people he encountered are the famous and infamous of western history: Cheyenne Chief Little Robe and the outlaw "Hurricane Bill" Martin; Indian Agent John D. Miles and Major General John Pope; outlaws Tom Harris and William Bonney, and Sheriff Pat Garrett. Altogether, Lee's biography vividly shows one man's manipulation of people and events during the settlement of the American frontier.
Indians, Cattle, Ships, and Oil: The Story of W. M. D. Lee
by Donald F. SchofieldIndian trader, rancher, harbor developer, oil impresario—these are the many worlds of one of the least chronicled but most fascinating characters of the American West. In the early, bustling years of the frontier, a brazen young man named William McDole Lee moved from Wisconsin to Kansas and then to Texas to forge a life for himself. Becoming a driving entrepreneurial force in Texas's development, Lee soon garnered the alliances and resources necessary to shape the financial destinies of disparate groups throughout the state. His story is expertly told in Donald F. Schofield's Indians, Cattle, Ships, and Oil. Beginning in 1869 as a trader to the southern Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes and fort provisioner to troops garrisoned at Camp Supply, Indian Territory, Lee gained a partner and amassed a fortune in short order from trading buffalo hides and robes. Vast herds of buffalo grazing on the southern plains were killed largely on his order. When buffalo were no longer a profitable commodity, Lee tackled his next challenge—the cattle trade. He began with herds branded LR that grazed on pastures near Fort Supply. Then came his LE herd in the Texas Panhandle. Another partnership, with noted cattle rancher Lucien Scott, resulted in the vast LS ranch, one of the most successful operations of its day. Lee even introduced a new breed of cattle, the Aberdeen-Angus, to the western range. But as his partnership faded, Lee moved on to his next undertaking—the development of Texas' first deep-water harbor. In 1888, Lee and other financiers put up one million dollars to finance a dream: opening international trade from the waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the mainland at the mouth of the Brazos River. Their Brazos River Channel and Dock Company was to construct, own, and operate a deep-water harbor at Velasco, with a railroad link to Houston. Though threats of financial disaster loomed large, the Velasco facility was to welcome, in its day, tugs, barges, and three-masted schooners and to provide impetus for Houston's boom. Yet with success, the mercurial Lee turned to yet another challenge—oil. Starting still another partnership, Lee committed himself to prospecting for oil on the West Columbia Ridge in Brazoria County. Lee and crew struck oil in 1907, developing one of the first producing wells of Brazoria County, but inadequate drilling equipment hampered further fruitful exploration. Lee moved his rigs to the famed Spindletop, where he perfected the technique of shallow drilling. Though spectacular success in the oil business eluded him, Lee's accomplishments set him squarely among the great entrepreneurs of the Texas oil industry. Lee's exploits led him to roles in some of the most dramatic moments in Texas and the West—Indian uprisings, buffalo hunts, political scandals, cowboy strikes and shoot-outs, railroad promotions, oil-well blow-outs and gushers. The people he encountered are the famous and infamous of western history: Cheyenne Chief Little Robe and the outlaw "Hurricane Bill" Martin; Indian Agent John D. Miles and Major General John Pope; outlaws Tom Harris and William Bonney, and Sheriff Pat Garrett. Altogether, Lee's biography vividly shows one man's manipulation of people and events during the settlement of the American frontier.
Indians, Cowboys, and Farmers: 1865 - 1910
by James Lincoln Collier Christopher CollierHistory is dramatic -- and the renowned, award-winning authors Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier demonstrate this in a compelling series aimed at young readers. Covering American history from the founding of Jamestown through present day, these volumes explore far beyond the dates and events of a historical chronicle to present a moving illumination of the ideas, opinions, attitudes and tribulations that led to the birth of this great nation. Indians, Cowboys, and Farmers discusses the settling of the area between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains and the conflicting interests of the different groups involved--the Indians, cowboys, farmers, sheepherders, and railroad barons. The authors discuss the effect of the American policy of westward expansion on the Indian population, the rise and fall of the "Cattle Kingdom," and the importance of cross-country transportation. The text is enhanced with maps, photographs, and images of historic art & artifacts.
Indians, Franciscans, and Spanish Colonization: The Impact Of The Mission System On California Indians
by Robert Jackson Edward CastilloThis ethnohistory, now in paperback, examines Indian life in the twenty-one missions Franciscans established in Alta California. In describing how the missions functioned between 1769 and 1848, the authors draw on previously unused sources to analyze change and continuity in Indian material culture and religious practices. The twin goals of Franciscans were to mold Indians into a work force that would produce surplus grain for military garrisons and to regulate their moral conduct and religious practices. The authors use production records to show the missions were quite effective in serving the economic goals. Also carefully assessed are the efforts to transform the culture and world view of Indians by delineating how they coped, their history of disease and death, and their efforts at resistance.
Indias blancas
by Florencia BonelliUn relato de amor apasionado, donde indios, blancos y mujeres cautivas entretejen una trama que perdura para siempre en la mente del lector. Florencia Bonelli, con maestría narrativa y un profundo conocimiento de la historia argentina, ofrece en Indias blancas un relato de amor apasionado, donde indios, blancos y mujeres cautivas entretejen una trama que perdura para siempre en la mente del lector. Corre el año 1873 y la sociedad porteña se consolida alrededor de las familias con apellidos ilustres. Laura Escalante, hija de un general de la Nación, es una bellísima joven con ideas claras y fuertes convicciones. Cuando viaja a Córdoba para atender a su hermano enfermo, conoce al indio ranquel Nahueltruz Guor y su vida cambia para siempre. Un amor irrefrenable, enfrentado a todos y a todo, incluso a ellos mismos, los hace transitar momentos dolorosos, llenos de aventuras, desencuentros y acción, en el marco de la épica lucha entre indios y blancos que ha definido nuestro país desde entonces.
Indias blancas 2. La vuelta del ranquel
by Florencia BonelliUn relato de amor apasionado, donde indios, blancos y mujeres cautivas entretejen una trama que perdura para siempre en la mente del lector. La batalla entre la venganza y un amor que el tiempo no consigue borrar. En 1879, Buenos Aires vive su hora más convulsionada. Roca prepara la campaña al desierto con vistas a postularse como presidente de la Nación. Laura Escalante, mujer destacada de la vida cultural y política de su ciudad, nunca ha olvidado al indio Nahueltruz Guor, convertido en el excéntrico Lorenzo Dionisio Rosas, vuelve a su tierra después de seis años para vengarse de quien lo traicionó y le rompió el corazón. El encuentro los trastornará a los dos. Nunca volverán a ser los mismos. Florencia Bonelli, con maestría narrativa y un profundo conocimiento de la historia argentina, ofrece en Indias blancas. La vuelta del ranquel un relato de amor apasionado en el cual se dirime no solo el futuro de dos personas sino el de una nación.
India–Afghanistan: From Common Inheritance to Contested Histories
by Saroj Kumar RathThis book is a searing history of Indo-Afghan relations. It looks at how Afghanistan, once the heartland of India, has now been reduced to a troubled cousin in the contemporary era. Drawing on archival records, as well as ancient Greek, Sanskrit, Chinese, and Persian literature, the book traces the history of Afghanistan from ancient times up to the recent Taliban takeover of the country in 2020. It presents an analytical history of race, culture, and belonging in a world shaken and transformed by colonization. The author provides a new interpretation of the region and discusses South Asia’s courteous racial etiquette.An indispensable read, the book will be useful for students and researchers of history, Middle East and Central Asian studies, international relations, politics, development studies, and Asian studies.
India–Pakistan Wars and the Kashmir Crisis
by Rathnam IndurthyThis book examines the origins of the conflict between two nuclear powers – India and Pakistan – and the instability and violence in the disputed territory of Kashmir. It presents to its readers a chronology of events and political decisions that have led to an intractable situation of the present, many decades since the stand-off between India and Pakistan started. Rathnam Indurthy traces the origins of the constant war-like situation between the two most powerful nuclear powers in South Asia through war and peace, agreements and talks, and political leaders and generals. From Indira Gandhi to Vajpayee, and from Zia-ul-Haq, Parvez Musharraf and Nawaz Sharif, the volume lays bare the various machinations on the political chessboard. It also looks at the internal issues and politics of Kashmir and offers explanations as well as solutions for the resolution of the festering impasse the two nations have reached. This volume will be of great interest to scholars and readers of foreign policy, international relations, South Asian politics, and defence and strategic studies.
India–Vietnam Relations: Development Dynamics and Strategic Alignment (Dynamics of Asian Development)
by Reena Marwah Lê Thị Hằng NgaThis book provides an in-depth analysis of the close cultural links between India and Vietnam. It discusses the issues of trade negotiations under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Indo-Pacific construct. Issues such as strengthening the economic partnership, contemporary development challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including weakening supply chains, and geo-strategic tensions are explored in this book. It enriches understanding of the potential of the two countries to develop as manufacturing hubs for the region and beyond. Given the more aggressive posturing by China in 2020, the concluding chapter includes the policy prescriptions with a futuristic vision, for India and Vietnam to catalyze their strategic and bilateral partnership. Well researched and analytical, the book draws extensively from several interviews of experts, diplomats, journalists, businesspersons, and members of the diaspora. It is a must read for students, researchers, think tanks, area study centers, and all institutions engaged in Asian studies, encompassing narratives extending from the developmental to political, from the bilateral to the multilateral and from the geo-economic to the geo-strategic.
India’s Biennale Effect: A politics of contemporary art
by Sunil Manghani Robert E. D'SouzaIndia’s Kochi-Muziris Biennale has been described as one of the most significant newly emergent biennales, alongside Shanghai, Sharjah and Dakar. However, there have been few sustained and critical studies of these events as specific sites of production and reception of contemporary art. This book, engaging with the Kochi Biennale, provides detailed examination of what the editors term as the ‘biennale effect’ — a layered contestation of place, economics, art and politics. It presents a close reading of the unique context of the biennale as well as sets out a broader critical framework for understanding global contemporary art and its effects. Replete with illustrations, this book will serve as an important and rare resource for scholars and researchers of contemporary art, art history, visual cultures, and media studies.
India’s Eurasian Alternatives in an Era of Connectivity: Historic Connects and New Corridors (Europe-Asia Connectivity)
by Anita SenguptaThe volume examines how in the twenty-first century narratives built around connectivity have become a structural component of international politics expanding into a wider array of policy fields i It examines the significance of this emerging narrative from an Indian perspective with particular reference to Eurasian alternatives. It argues that this represents the next stage of globalization and that an understanding of this is increasingly becoming crucial given the recent disruptions along with the emergence of a spate of new policies and institutions that could eventually lead to a new understanding of connectivity.
India’s Federal Setup: A Journey Through Seven Decades
by R. MohanThis book analyzes the evolution of our polity in the last seven decades by examining the developments in the economy, political events, and changing judicial perceptions. With a focus on the pertinent constitutional, political, economic, and social questions, it presents an overview of events which have influenced the evolution of federal and unitary tendencies.The subject matter of this book also discusses the emergence of coalition governments, dominance of a single party, relationships between the different tiers of the government, fiscal and economic issues, and political actions of constitutional authorities.Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan or Bhutan)
India’s Grand Strategy: History, Theory, Cases (War and International Politics in South Asia)
by Kanti Bajpai Saira Basit V. KrishnappaAs India prepares to take its place in shaping the course of an ‘Asian century’, there are increasing debates about its ‘grand strategy’ and its role in a future world order. This timely and topical book presents a range of historical and contemporary interpretations and case studies on the theme. Drawing upon rich and diverse narratives that have informed India’s strategic discourse, security and foreign policy, it charts a new agenda for strategic thinking on postcolonial India from a non-Western perspective. Comprehensive and insightful, the work will prove indispensable to those in defence and strategic studies, foreign policy, political science, and modern Indian history. It will also interest policy-makers, think-tanks and diplomats.
India’s Himalayan Frontiers: History and Politics (Nepal and Himalayan Studies)
by Viney C. BhutaniThis book looks at the historical and political dynamics of the Sino-Indian border dispute in India’s Himalayan Frontiers. Going back into Tibetan history, the author examines the making of the McMahon Line at Simla Conference of 1913–14. It also takes a look at some of the neighbouring areas that had interaction with Tibet, as well as the border areas of Assam and Burma, both of which were British Indian provinces. By using new archival materials, this study further goes to consider the events during the years following the defining of the McMahon Line, which, verily, did not have a sound juridical basis even if it has been regarded by scholars as a suitable boundary. It further explores different aspects of the northern frontiers of India and Sino-Indian border dispute and relations. This volume will interest scholars and researchers of history, political science and area studies, especially those interested in the geopolitics of India, China and the Himalayan region.
India’s Intelligence Culture and Strategic Surprises: Spying for South Block (Studies in Intelligence)
by Dheeraj Paramesha ChayaThis book examines India’s foreign intelligence culture and strategic surprises in the 20th century. The work looks at whether there is a distinct way in which India ‘thinks about’ and ‘does’ intelligence, and, by extension, whether this affects the prospects of it being surprised. Drawing on a combination of archival data, secondary source information and interviews with members of the Indian security and intelligence community, the book provides a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of Indian intelligence culture from the ancient period to colonial times and, subsequently, the post-colonial era. This evolutionary culture has played a significant role in explaining the India’s foreign intelligence failure during the occurrences of strategic surprises, such as the 1962 Sino-Indian War and the 1999 Kargil War, while it successfully prepared for surprise attacks like Operation Chenghiz Khan by Pakistan in 1971. The result is that the book argues that the strategic culture of a nation and its interplay with intelligence organisations and operations is important to understanding the conditions for intelligence failures and strategic surprises. This book will be of much interest to students of intelligence studies, strategic studies, Asian politics and International Relations.
India’s Naval Diplomacy: Contours and Constraints
by P.V. RaoThis book studies India’s evolving naval engagements with other nations of the Indian Ocean region. It traces the growth of the Indian Navy and discusses its role as an instrument of meeting national objectives, particularly for furthering foreign policy. The volume analyses themes such as Indian Navy’s (IN) transition from a brown water to blue water force, Indian maritime debates and doctrines, naval ‘bridge-building’ missions, and Sino-Indian maritime competitions. It examines Indian Navy’s regional roles within the broader framework of its diplomatic objectives in particular regions and looks at how keen regional states are to accept India as a crisis manager and would allow it to build a regional maritime security architecture. The author also discusses state control over naval diplomatic roles and investigates if Indian Navy can effectively hedge extra-regional, mainly Chinese, involvement in the Indian Ocean. An important study of India’s naval prowess, this book will be indispensable to students and researchers of political science, international relations, maritime and naval studies, strategic studies, geopolitics, defence studies, conflict studies, diplomacy, Indian Ocean studies, South Asian studies and those interested in India-China maritime rivalry.
India’s Ocean
by Cuiping ZhuThis book focuses on international relations in the Indian Ocean region and covers many policy aspects of Modi's India. Written by leading scholars of international and Indian Ocean studies, this annual report includes both a strategic review and the major events and related data in this region. It also discusses the origin, aims, frameworks and regional and global impact of India's development under the Modi administration, offering readers a full and authentic picture of the most recent developments in India. This year's Annual Report is the fourth of this kind and the only one to include the Indian Ocean region of China.
India’s Relations with Neighboring South and South East Asian Countries: Perspectives on Look East to Act East Policy (Dynamics of Asian Development)
by Lipi Ghosh Anasua Basu Ray ChaudhuryThis book presents a holistic perspective across various facets of culture, history, politics, economics and strategy in India’s relations with neighbouring South and Southeast Asian countries. This book not only analyses various issues of India’s foreign policy diplomacy but also explores the perspectives of neighbouring countries towards India. It engages experts from India and its South and Southeast Asian neighbours to discuss topics, such as overland linkages, people-to-people interactions, opportunities and implications of India’s Act East policy on its neighbours in changing geopolitical backdrop. The book emphasises on the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and suggests a greater scope of regional cooperation on emergencies such as health crises in the Bay region. This rich collection of essays has strategic and scholarly relevance for researchers working on a wide range of topics related to development studies, cultural studies, Asian studies as well as policy makers and general readers.
India’s Soft Power: A New Foreign Policy Strategy
by Patryk KugielIt is sometimes said that, in the 21st century, the country that tells the better story wins, rather than the country whose army can prevail on the battlefield. That ability to attract others, persuade and set the agenda, soft power, plays an increasingly important role in international relations and in Indian foreign policy. However, while most of the rediscovered interest in India has been focused on its hard power attributes, such as its military and economy, this book concentrates on less tangible assets, such as its culture, ideas and people. The first comprehensive analysis of India’s soft power done from an international relations perspective, this book tracks the changes in Indian foreign policy over last two decades to show how soft power strategy, tools and institutions have been given a more prominent place in India’s external affairs. The study evaluates India’s soft power assets and liabilities and shows how the state is trying to make better use of this potential to realise its national interests. It assesses the effectiveness of India’s soft power approach and provides recommendations on possible improvements to make India a major smart power in the future. An intriguing and comprehensive analysis, it will be valuable for students and scholars interested in Indian foreign policy, soft power theory and international relations. Underlining India’s uniqueness, it substantiates the argument that soft power is not confined to the Western world. Thus, it contributes an interesting case study for comparative study of soft powers. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
India’s Sri Lanka Policy
by Vinod KhobragadeThis book focuses on India’s foreign policy towards Sri Lanka before the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord (ISLA) in July 1987 and India’s military intervention after the ISLA. The post-intervention developments brought strategic changes in India’s Sri Lanka policy. However, after leadership change in both the countries, India confined its policy to moral support and decided to abstain from direct intervention or involvement in Sri Lanka’s domestic politics. After the demise of the LTTE and its leadership in 2009, India played a constructive role in rebuilding infrastructure in Sri Lanka. The book also focuses on the developments of the relationships between India and Sri Lanka in the post-IPKF period and the bilateral developments in the Post - LTTE periods. Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)
Indie Cinema Online
by Sarah E.S. SinwellIndie Cinema Online investigates the changing nature of contemporary American independent cinema in an era of media convergence. Focusing on the ways in which modes of production, distribution, and exhibition are shifting with the advent of online streaming, simultaneous release strategies, and web series, this book analyzes sites such as SundanceTV, YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, and other online spaces as a means of redefining independent cinema in a digital era. Analyzing the intersections among cinema studies, cultural studies, and new media studies within contemporary convergence culture, author Sarah E.S. Sinwell looks at sites of media convergence that are often ignored within most studies of digital media. Emphasizing the ways in which the forms and technologies of media culture have changed during the age of convergence, this book analyzes contemporary production, distribution, and exhibition practices as a means of examining the changing meanings of independent cinema within digital culture.
Indie, Inc.: Miramax and the Transformation of Hollywood in the 1990s (Texas Film and Media Studies Series)
by Alisa PerrenDuring the 1990s, films such as sex, lies, and videotape, The Crying Game, Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, and Shakespeare in Love earned substantial sums at the box office along with extensive critical acclaim. A disproportionate number of these hits came from one company: Miramax. Indie, Inc. surveys Miramax&’s evolution from independent producer-distributor to studio subsidiary, chronicling how one company transformed not just the independent film world but the film and media industries more broadly. As Alisa Perren illustrates, Miramax&’s activities had an impact on everything from film festival practices to marketing strategies, talent development to awards campaigning. Case studies of key films, including The Piano, Kids, Scream, The English Patient, and Life Is Beautiful, reveal how Miramax went beyond influencing Hollywood business practices and motion picture aesthetics to shaping popular and critical discourses about cinema during the 1990s. Indie, Inc. does what other books about contemporary low-budget cinema have not—it transcends discussions of &“American indies&” to look at the range of Miramax-released genre films, foreign-language films, and English-language imports released over the course of the decade. The book illustrates that what both the press and scholars have typically represented as the &“rise of the American independent&” was in fact part of a larger reconfiguration of the media industries toward niche-oriented products.
Indie: An American Film Culture (Film and Culture Series)
by Michael Z. NewmanAmerica's independent films often seem to defy classification. Their strategies of storytelling and representation range from raw, no-budget projects to more polished releases of Hollywood's "specialty" divisions. Yet understanding American indies involves more than just considering films. Filmmakers, distributors, exhibitors, festivals, critics, and audiences all shape the art's identity, which is always understood in relation to the Hollywood mainstream.By locating the American indie film in the historical context of the "Sundance-Miramax" era (the mid-1980s to the end of the 2000s), Michael Z. Newman considers indie cinema as an alternative American film culture. His work isolates patterns of character and realism, formal play, and oppositionality and the functions of the festivals, art houses, and critical media promoting them. He also accounts for the power of audiences to identify indie films in distinction to mainstream Hollywood and to seek socially emblematic characters and playful form in their narratives. Analyzing films such as Welcome to the Dollhouse (1996), Lost in Translation (2003), Pulp Fiction (1994), and Juno (2007), along with the work of Nicole Holofcener, Jim Jarmusch, John Sayles, Steven Soderbergh, and the Coen brothers, Newman investigates the conventions that cast indies as culturally legitimate works of art. He binds these diverse works together within a cluster of distinct viewing strategies and invites a reevaluation of the difference of independent cinema and its relationship to class and taste culture.
Indifference and Repetition; or, Modern Freedom and Its Discontents
by Frank RudaIn capitalism human beings act as if they are mere animals. So we hear repeatedly in the history of modern philosophy. Indifference and Repetition examines how modern philosophy, largely coextensive with a particular boost in capitalism’s development, registers the reductive and regressive tendencies produced by capitalism’s effect on individuals and society.Ruda examines a problem that has invisibly been shaping the history of modern, especially rationalist philosophical thought, a problem of misunderstanding freedom. Thinkers like Descartes, Kant, Hegel, and Marx claim that there are conceptions and interpretations of freedom that lead the subjects of these interpretations to no longer act and think freely. They are often unwillingly led into unfreedom. It is thus possible that even “freedom” enslaves. Modern philosophical rationalism, whose conceptual genealogy the books traces and unfolds, assigns a name to this peculiar form of domination by means of freedom: indifference. Indifference is a name for the assumption that freedom is something that human beings have: a given, a natural possession. When we think freedom is natural or a possession we lose freedom. Modern philosophy, Ruda shows, takes its shape through repeated attacks on freedom as indifference; it is the owl that begins its flight, so that the days of unfreedom will turn to dusk.