Cultuur

With My Life among the Deathworks: Illustrations of the Aesthetics of Authority, the renowned cultural theorist and Freud scholar Philip Rieff inaugurates a trilogy that signals the summation of his scholarly lifework. With this series, Sacred Order/Social Order, to be published in consecutive volumes, Rieff both continues and supersedes the lines of thought that characterize the earlier, influential works upon which his reputation was forged. Readers familiar with Rieff's distinctive oeuvre will recognize central themes and find final recitations on the cultural impact of Freud and his creation "psychological man" or "the therapeutic," which Rieff here renames the "new man." Whether conversant with Rieff's work or new to its unique interpretive power, readers of Sacred Order/Social Order will discover a series of provocative insights, illuminated by Rieff's wide-ranging expositions, theoretical advances, and stylistic innovations.

In this first volume, Rieff articulates a comprehensive, typological theory of Western culture. Using visual illustrations and unique juxtapositions, he displays remarkable erudition in drawing from such disciplines as sociology, history, literature, poetry, music, plastic arts, and film; he contrasts the changing modes of spiritual and social thought that have struggled for dominance throughout Western history. Our modern culture--to Rieff's mind only the "third" type in western history--is the object of his deepest scrutiny, described here as morally ruinous, death-affirming rather than life-affirming, and representing an unprecedented attempt to create a culture completely devoid of any concept of the sacred.

For Rieff, culture represents the "form of fighting before the firing begins" in a literal life-and-death struggle for a particular type of world-creation. Having concluded in this final phase of his career that there is no neutral ground in this struggle, Rieff takes aim at many of the most significant "deathworks" in modern literature, art, and history--from Joyce's Finnegans Wake and Duchamp's Etant donnés to Hitler's death camps--in an attempt to undo them by using them against themselves. In so doing, he seeks to show the reader what really animates, and is ultimately at stake, in the contemporary "culture wars" raging over such issues as euthanasia, education, medical research, sexuality, race, class, and gender.

Lezingen van de Roemeense godsdiensthistoricus en -fenomenoloog over riten en symbolen, waarmee in primitieve culturen bepaalde overgangen (naar volwassenheid, een geheim genootschap) omgeven werden, en die zich in de grote godsdiensten hebben weten te handhaven

A generation ago Americans undertook a revolutionary experiment to redefine marriage. The results of this experiment separating marriage from childrearing are in, and they are bad news for children and for the country as a whole. The family upheaval has hit African-Americans especially hard. We forgot what American marriage was designed to do: it ordered lives by giving the young a meaningful life script. It supported middle-class foresight, planning, and self-sufficiency. And it organized men and women around The Mission-nurturing their children's cognitive, emotional, and physical development. It is The Mission that separates middle-class kids from their less-parented and lower-achieving peers. In fact our great family experiment threatens to turn what the founders imagined as an opportunity-rich republic of equal citizens into a hereditary caste society.

When it was published twenty-five years ago, this book captured a huge audience of Vietnam War protesters, dropouts, and rebels—and their baffled elders. Theodore Roszak found common ground between 1960s student radicals and hippie dropouts in their mutual rejection of what he calls the technocracy—the regime of corporate and technological expertise that dominates industrial society. He traces the intellectual underpinnings of the two groups in the writings of Herbert Marcuse and Norman O. Brown, Allen Ginsberg and Paul Goodman. In a new introduction, Roszak reflects on the evolution of counter culture since he coined the term in the sixties.

Alan Watts wrote of The Making of a Counter Culture in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1969, "If you want to know what is happening among your intelligent and mysteriously rebellious children, this is the book. The generation gap, the student uproar, the New Left, the beats and hippies, the psychedelic movement, rock music, the revival of occultism and mysticism, the protest against our involvement in Vietnam, and the seemingly odd reluctance of the young to buy the affluent technological society—all these matters are here discussed, with sympathy and constructive criticism, by a most articulate, wise, and humane historian."

Geschiedenis van het circuswezen in Nederland van 1901-1971

The unqualified victory of consumerism in America was not a foregone conclusion. The United States has traditionally been the home of the most aggressive and often thoughtful criticism of consumption, including Puritanism, Prohibition, the simplicity movement, the '60s hippies, and the consumer rights movement. But at the dawn of the twenty-first century, not only has American consumerism triumphed, there isn't even an "ism" left to challenge it. An All-Consuming Century is a rich history of how market goods came to dominate American life over that remarkable hundred years between 1900 and 2000 and why for the first time in history there are no practical limits to consumerism.

By 1930 a distinct consumer society had emerged in the United States in which the taste, speed, control, and comfort of goods offered new meanings of freedom, thus laying the groundwork for a full-scale ideology of consumer's democracy after World War II. From the introduction of Henry Ford's Model T ("so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one") and the innovations in selling that arrived with the department store (window displays, self service, the installment plan) to the development of new arenas for spending (amusement parks, penny arcades, baseball parks, and dance halls), Americans embraced the new culture of commercialism-with reservations. However, Gary Cross shows that even the Depression, the counterculture of the 1960s, and the inflation of the 1970s made Americans more materialistic, opening new channels of desire and offering opportunities for more innovative and aggressive marketing. The conservative upsurge of the 1980s and '90s indulged in its own brand of self-aggrandizement by promoting unrestricted markets. The consumerism of today, thriving and largely unchecked, no longer brings families and communities together; instead, it increasingly divides and isolates Americans.

Consumer culture has provided affluent societies with peaceful alternatives to tribalism and class war, Cross writes, and it has fueled extraordinary economic growth. The challenge for the future is to find ways to revive the still valid portion of the culture of constraint and control the overpowering success of the all-consuming twentieth century.

Sweeping away misconceptions about the "Me Decade," Bruce Schulman offers a fast-paced, wide-ranging, and brilliant examination of the political, cultural, social, and religious upheavals of the 1970s. Arguing that it was one of the most important of the postwar twentieth-century decades, despite its reputation as an eminently forgettable period, Schulman reconstructs public events and private lives, high culture and low, analyzing not only presidential politics and national policy but also the broader social and cultural experiences that transformed American life. Here are the names, faces, and movements that gave birth to the world we now live in-from Nixon and Carter to The Godfather and the Ramones; from Billie Jean King and Phyllis Schlafly to NOW and the ERA; from the Energy Crisis to Roe v. Wade. The Seventies is an astutely provocative reexamination of a misunderstood era.

Het leven van de vrije negerin Elisabeth Samson (1715-1771) die in het 18e eeuwse Suriname bekend werd om haar rijkdom en haar huwelijk met een blanke man.

Guy Poppe heeft de historische gebeurtenissen in Congo van nabij gevolgd, tot aan Joseph Kabila's eedaflegging als radiojournalist en daarna als gepassioneerde getuige. Zijn dagboek geeft een uniek beeld van de getormenteerde periode die Congo het voorbije lange decennium meegemaakt heeft.

Ervaringen en overpeinzingen van een beheerder van een Amsterdamse begraafplaats.

Tuinontwerp... A concise introduction to the practical aspects of making a Japanese garden. Whether your garden is a spacious suburban lot, an office courtyard, or a tiny inner-city backyard, you will find here hundreds of creative but time-honored ways to make maximum use of the space you have...

Catalogus bij een tentoonstelling over kunstschatten uit het Ottomaanse Rijk.

Fotoboek over aspecten van de Engelse geschiedenis. 

Reisverslagen in het voetspoor van enkele Franse schrijvers, gevolgd door een studie over kookkunst in de Franse literatuur (met recepten) en een inleiding tot de Franse erotische letteren.

No longer able to read community in terms colored by a romantic nostalgia for homogeneity, closeness and sameness, or the myth of rational choice, we nevertheless face an imperative to think the common. The prominent scholars assembled here come together to articulate community while thinking seriously about the tropes, myths, narratives, metaphors, conceits, and shared cultural texts on which any such articulation depends. The result is a major contribution to literary theory, postcolonialism, philosophy, political theory, and sociology.

Made in Japanthese three simple words conjure playful wit, a delight in detail, formal elegance, and graphic energy. Author of Made in China, Reed Darmon has collected hundreds of images of everyday Japanese design and pop culture ephemera from the past century. Including perfume ads, art deco matchboxes, robot toys, action movie posters, Noh masks, kimono patters, sumo cards, children's books, household product packages, and much more, the fascinating objects assembled here reveal traditional Japanese artistry and techniques as applied to playfully modern design. A stylish object and graphic essay in one, Made in Japan is an extraordinary glimpse into the heart of Japanese popular culture.

Satirische ontmaskering van het rechtse bewind van de regering-Bush en andere rechtse Amerikaanse wantoestanden. Na het lezen van dit boek weet u zo'n beetje alles over Ann Coulter, Bill O´Reilly, Sean Hannity en Alan Holmes, de paradepaarden van journalistiek rechts Amerika. Nadat Bill O´Reilly (baas en talkshowhost van Fox News, en de lelijke man op de voorkant van dit boek) Al Franken voor de rechter had gedaagd, omdat hij het had gewaagd de slogan van Fox News - eerlijk en uitgebalanceerd - als ondertitel voor Leugens op te voeren, schoot de verkoop van dit boek alleen maar omhoog. O´Reilly verloor de rechtszaak.

In this important book, an eminent authority presents a new perspective on affirmative action, investigating its actual consequences in the United States and in other countries where it has been in effect. Evaluating his empirical data, Thomas Sowell concludes that race preference programs worldwide have not met expectations and have often produced the opposite of what was originally intended.

Nederlanders en Nederland, bezien door de bril van een Amerikaan die geruime tijd in ons land woonde en werkte. Steven Stupp beschrijft in Beneden de zeespiegel zijn weg van ‘cultuurschok’ naar ‘begrip’, van zijn eerste kennismaking met ons ambtelijk apparaat, tot het doorgronden van het even praktische als transcendente concept ‘gezelligheid’. Hij beziet de virtuoze hersenacrobatiek waarmee Nederlanders er onder alle omstandigheden in slagen iets groots in hun kleinheid te ontdekken, vooral bij sportevenementen. Persoonlijke belevenissen en anekdotes, altijd geestig en bij vlagen hilarisch (bijvoorbeeld over de subtiliteit van het leren van een vreemde taal), geven kleur aan zijn verhaal. Wij Nederlanders willen niet veel aannemen van een ander, zeker niet van buitenlanders. Maar toch blijkt dat er graag gelezen wordt over wat men van ons vindt.

Now the subject of a film by Richard Linklater, Eric Schlosser's explosive bestseller Fast Food Nation: What the All-American Meal is Doing to the World tells the story of our love affair with fast food.

Britain eats more fast food than any other country in Europe. It looks good, tastes good, and it's cheap. But the real cost never appears on the menu.

Eric Schlosser visits the lab that re-creates the smell of strawberries; examines the safety records of abattoirs; reveals why the fries really taste so good and what lurks between the sesame buns - and shows how fast food is transforming not only our diets but our world.

'Fast Food Nation has lifted the polystyrene lid on the global fast food industry ... and sparked a storm'
Observer

'Has wiped that smirk off the Happy Meal ... Thanks to this man, you'll never eat a burger again'
Evening Standard

'Startling ... Junk food, we learn, is just that ... left this reader vowing never to set foot in one of those outlets again'
Daily Mail

'This book tells you more than you really want to know when you're chomping on that hamburger ... Have a nice day? Listen - you should live so long'
The Times

Eric Schlosser is a correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly. His first book, Fast Food Nation, was a major international bestseller. His work has appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, Rolling Stone and the Guardian. He has received a number of journalistic honours, including a National Magazine Award for an Atlantic Review article on the drug trade, which was later adapted into the book Reefer Madness.

Every country has its own customs, and Holland is no different in this respect. We take a look at some of the cultural customs, complexity and classic confusion in minding your manners in the Netherlands. When (temporarily) moving to another country or another part of the world it is convenient to be more or less familiar with the customs and habits in the new 'home country'. Becoming acquainted with the "do's and don'ts" will present the newcomer with some interesting challenges.

Politiek-sociale geschiedenis van de stad Parijs sinds de prehistorie. Andrew Hussey gaat in dit meesterlijke, buitensporig onderhoudende boek op zoek naar het Parijs achter het cliché van de ansichtkaart. Hij legt de rauwe werkelijkheid bloot van de petits gens, de gewone mensen in de straat, die de geschiedenis van Parijs grotendeels hebben bepaald, op de barricaden, in de bars, kunstsalons en bordelen, van de prehistorie tot de rellen in de hete herfst van 2005. Hussey delft de verdrongen betekenissen en occulte mythen op die door de officiële geschiedenis zijn overwoekerd. Iedereen die het onbekende Parijs wil ontdekken zal Parijs. De verborgen geschiedenis voortaan als zijn lijfboek beschouwen.

"To the average westerner, the word hara-kiri conjures up an image of excruciating, self-inflicted pain; of a deep, fatal incision. To the Japanese, this kind of suicide embodies the best qualities of courage, honor, and discipline. Through extensive research, author Jack Seward brings to the English-speaking public a dissertation on the subject that is thoroughly enlightening. Fluent in speaking, reading, and writing Japanese, he was able to glean information from ancient documents--many of them scrolls in the Japanese archives--that few foreigners have seen. The earliest writings on hara-kiri (known more formally as seppuku) are thus revealed, as are the intricate rituals surrounding the ceremony. "The major purpose of this book," says the author, "is to clarify the historical and sociological significance of a unique method of self-destruction." In fulfilling this purpose, author Seward has come up with a definitive work that is sure to arouse interest both as a scholarly effort and as simple, fascinating reading." -- Publisher's description

Een bundeling van bekende en minder bekende, nationale en internationale feesten. Aan de orde komen Nederlandse feesten zoals Carnaval, Kerst, Koninginnedag, Pasen, St. Maarten, Sint-Nicolaas en Oud & Nieuw, Angelsaksische feesten als Valentijnsdag, Haloween en Thanksgiving, Islamitische feesten als Ramadhan en Id al-Fitr, de Hindoeistische feesten Holi en Deepavali, maar ook Chinees Nieuwjaar, het Chinese Festival van de Hongerige Geesten, het Nepalese Waterfeest, het Thaise Loy Kratong en Braziliaans Carnaval en vele andere feesten en feestdagen.

serie: de vroegste beschavingen

Starting with the premise that we live in communication (rather than standing outside communication and using it for secondary purposes), Pearce claims that people who live in various cultures and historical epochs not only communicate differently but experience different ways of being human because they communicate differently.

This century, he notes, ushered in the "communication revolution," the discovery that communication is far more important and central to the human condition than ever before realized. Essential to the communication revolution is the recognition that multiple forms of discourse exist in contemporary human society. Further, these forms of discourse are not benign; they comprise alternative ways of being human.

Thus communication theory must encompass all that it "means to live a life, the shape of social institutions and cultural traditions, the pragmatics of social action, and the poetics of social order."

"In de late negentiende eeuw steeg de materiële welvaart spectaculair, en de mensen gingen anders kijken, ervaren en denken. Zo ontstond de nieuwe cultuur die tot op de dag van vandaag als de moderne wordt gezien. In de oude beschaving stond het streven naar 'het hogere' voorop, de hoogste waarden waren immaterieel, 'geestelijk'. De nieuwe cultuur kwam met andere, heel aardse waarden en normen. Die werden massaal omarmd, het eerst en vooral in de grote steden. Daar waren de spraakmakende winkels, de verbluffende horeca concepten, de eerste bioscopen, daar waren alle nouveautés te zien. In deze nieuwe cultuur werd het concrete, het materiële, belangrijker dan het ideële. Het hebben van spullen en een goede gezondheid werden de bronnen van geluk. Auke van der Woud beschrijft de culturele revolutie zoals die plaatsvond inde etalages, in de cafés, de theaters en de bioscopen, de musea en bij de monumenten, de badplaatsen, de nieuwe modieuze bloemen en planten, in de scholenbouw en de nieuwe stadswijken. Dit machtige panorama toont de bakermat van de nieuwe mens, onze directe voorouders."--Back cover.