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When Old Technologies Were New
In the history of electronic communication, the last quarter of the nineteenth century holds a special place, for it was during this period that the telephone, phonograph, electric light, wireless, and cinema were all invented. In When old Technologies Were New, Carolyn Marvin explores how two of these new inventions--the telephone and the electric light--were publicly envisioned at the end of the nineteenth century, as seen in specialized engineering journals and popular media. Marvin pays particular attention to the telephone, describing how it disrupted established social relations, unsettling customary ways of dividing the private person and family from the more public setting of the com...
Blood Sacrifice and the Nation
This compelling book argues that American patriotism is a civil religion of blood sacrifice, which periodically kills its children to keep the group together. The flag is the sacred object of this religion; its sacrificial imperative is a secret which the group keeps from itself to survive. Expanding Durkheim's theory of the totem taboo as the organizing principle of enduring groups, Carolyn Marvin uncovers the system of sacrifice and regeneration which constitutes American nationalism, shows why historical instances of these rituals succeed or fail in unifying the group, and explains how mass media are essential to the process. American culture is depicted as ritually structured by a fertile center and sacrificial borders of death. Violence plays a key part in its identity. In essence, nationalism is neither quaint historical residue nor atavistic extremism, but a living tradition which defines American life.
The Myth of Religious Violence
The idea that religion has a dangerous tendency to promote violence is part of the conventional wisdom of Western societies, and it underlies many of our institutions and policies, from limits on the public role of religion to efforts to promote liberal democracy in the Middle East. William T. Cavanaugh challenges this conventional wisdom by examining how the twin categories of religion and the secular are constructed. A growing body of scholarly work explores how the category 'religion' has been constructed in the modern West and in colonial contexts according to specific configurations of political power. Cavanaugh draws on this scholarship to examine how timeless and transcultural categor...
Death by Design
Nancy Drew and her friend Bess Marvin travel into a world of fashion. But behind all the clothes, there is someone determained to see the death of famed fashion designer Kim Daley. When Nancy accidentally drinks a poison that was meant for Kim, she realizes she has only seventy-two hours to live. Can Nancy find the poisoner—and the antidote—before it’s too late?
The Self Wired
First Published in 2002. Advanced technologies challenge conventional understandings of the human subject by transforming the body into a conduit between external forces and the internal psyche. This title discusses the intense controversy about how to best understand and represent human subjectivity in a technology-intensive era. Yaszek provides an overview by linking specific modes of identity and agency to engagement with specific manifestations of technology itself.
Symbols of Defeat in the Construction of National Identity
If nationalism is the assertion of legitimacy for a nation and its effectiveness as a political entity, why do many nations emphasize images of their own defeat in understanding their history? Using Israel, Serbia, France, Greece and Ghana as examples, the author argues that this phenomenon exposes the ambivalence that lurks behind the passions nationalism evokes. Symbols of defeat glorify a nation's ancient past, while reenacting the destruction of that past as a necessary step in constructing a functioning modern society. As a result, these symbols often assume a foundational role in national mythology. Threats to such symbols are perceived as threats to the nation itself and consequently are met with desperation difficult for outsiders to understand.
National Relations
In Stockholm in January of 1945, an assembly of Swedish diplomats and businessmen initiated an organization that was to improve the country’s reputation abroad. The new, semi-governmental Swedish Institute was charged with explaining Sweden’s policy of neutrality during the war, with encouraging peace-building, and with promoting foreign trade in the new international world order. Original and insightful, this account analyzes the policies, funding, and national narratives of the Swedish Institute. Providing a historical perspective on the politics of Swedish propaganda and explaining how ideas of communication shaped the Institute’s work and its representations of Sweden, this record also offers a comparative perspective on American national identity and its inherent notions of national exceptionalism.
Caste, Communication and Power
Caste, Communication and Power explores communication and the constitution of caste in Indian society. Intimately connected, both communication and caste are determined by historical developments. The book looks at communication as a lens to study caste and power relations, with its immense potential to shape perception and affect ground reality. It also studies the evolution of the conceptual and theoretical foundations of caste and power relations, and maps their emergence from communicative resources and practices. These communication practices are inevitably linked to the social structure, with their reliance on symbolic forms of self-expression, often revealing the underlying ideological attitudes. The book studies this interface of culture and media, evaluating the caste question and the associated power relations in terms of modes of communication practised in the society.
A Brief History of Death
The act of death itself and the rituals surrounding it vary enormously and shed a fascinating light on the cultures of which they are a part. In this brief and lively history, Douglas Davies – internationally acknowledged as one of the leading experts in this field – tackles some of the most significant aspects of death and weaves them into a compelling story about our changing attitudes to dying. Offers a fascinating examination of this subject which is of enduring interest in every culture in the world Considers the profound influence death has had on subjects ranging from philosophy to anthropology, through to art, literature, and music - inspiring some of our most enduring artistic highpoints Broaches some of the most significant aspects of death, such as the act of dying, grieving, burial, artistic interpretations of death, places of memory, the fear of death, and disasters/tragedies Weaves these numerous approaches to death into a compelling story about our changing attitudes to dying Contains several illustrations, and is written in an accessible and lively style.
When the Medium Was the Mission
**FINALIST, 2022 PROSE Award in Theology & Religious Studies** An innovative exploration of religion's influence on communication networks When Samuel Morse sent the words “what hath God wrought” from the US Supreme Court to Baltimore in mere minutes, it was the first public demonstration of words travelling faster than human beings and farther than a line of sight in the US. This strange confluence of media, religion, technology, and US nationhood lies at the foundation of global networks. The advent of a telegraph cable crossing the Atlantic Ocean was viewed much the way the internet is today, to herald a coming world-wide unification. President Buchanan declared that the Atlantic Tele...
