Vietnamese Society in Transition
Vietnamese Society in Transition

Author: John Kleinen

Publisher:

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13:

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In this bilingual publication, (English and French), academics from various disciplines and countries -- including Vietnam -- have been brought together to discuss agricultural engineering, economic development, religion, education, and gender in colonial and post-colonial Vietnam. Most of them are taking an insiders' position. The emphasis of the book lies on the postwar societal and cultural transformations in the country. A better understanding of new social and cultural ways in contemporary Vietnam entails excursions into the past and sound comparison. For the first time in the history of Vietnamese studies chapters are devoted to the position of women in colonial and post-colonial settings and on the legitimacy of state intervention in women's bodies under different regimes on the one hand and on religion and religious revival on the other. What makes this book special is the way the authors, stemming from such heterogene domains, provide an in-depth analysis of the development of this modern socialist state. Their approach and analysis of Vietnamese society can only be called unparalleled.

Manuscripts, Market and the Transition to Print in Late Medieval Brittany
Manuscripts, Market and the Transition to Print in Late Medieval Brittany

Author: Diane E. Booton

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-12-05

Total Pages: 573

ISBN-13: 1351920022

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Manuscripts, Market and the Transition to Print in Late Medieval Brittany surveys the production and marketing of non-monastic manuscripts and printed books over 150 years in late medieval Brittany, from the accession of the Montfort family to the ducal crown in 1364 to the duchy's formal assimilation by France in 1532. Brittany, as elsewhere, experienced the shift of manuscript production from monasteries to lay scriptoria and from rural settings to urban centers, as the motivation for copying the word in ink on parchment evolved from divine meditation to personal profit. Through her analysis of the physical aspects of Breton manuscripts and books, parchment and paper, textual layouts, scripts and typography, illumination and illustration, Diane Booton exposes previously unexplored connections between the tangible cultural artifacts and the society that produced, acquired and valued them. Innovatively, Booton's discussion incorporates archival research into the prices, wages and commissions associated with the manufacture of the works under discussion to shed new light on their economic and personal value.

Transactions, Transgressions, Transformation
Transactions, Transgressions, Transformation

Author: Heide Fehrenbach

Publisher: Berghahn Books

Published: 1999-12-01

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 1785330047

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American culture has been one of the most controversial exports of the United States: greeted with enthusiasm by some, with hostility by others. Yet, few societies escape its influence. However, not all changes should be interpreted simply as "Americanization." The shaping of the postwar world has been much more complex than this term implies as is shown in this volume that explores the links between Americanization and modernity in Western Europe and Japan. In considering the impact of products and images ranging from movies and music to fashion and architecture, a multi-disciplinary group of contributors asks how American culture has been employed internationally in the articulation of postwar identities - be they national or subnational,socially sanctioned or socially transgressive. Their essays on France, Italy, Germany and Japan move beyond the simple paradigms of colonization and democratic modernization, yet retain a sensitivity to the asymmetries in the postwar power relationships between these countries and the United States. An extensive introduction historically locates changing interpretations of American influences abroad and suggests the problems and promises of "Americanization" as an analytical tool. Its comparative focus and interdisciplinary scope will appeal to a wide range of students and scholars of cold war and post-cold war history.

A Time of Transition in the French Novel
A Time of Transition in the French Novel

Author: Christopher Shorley

Publisher:

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13:

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The years around 1930 are marked by turning points in most areas of French life, and the fiction of the time is a privileged means of understanding those changes. This book traces vital transitions in French politics, society, and culture; the focus then moves to the novel, a genre uniquely equipped to reflect topical shifts and breakthroughs.

Multiculturalism and Democracy in North Africa
Multiculturalism and Democracy in North Africa

Author: Moha Ennaji

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-04-16

Total Pages: 335

ISBN-13: 1317813618

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Investigating the connections between multiculturalism, minorities, citizenship, and democracy in North Africa, this book argues that multiculturalism in this region– and in the Arab world at large – has reached a significant level in terms of scale and importance. In the rest of the world, there has been a trend – albeit a contested one – toward a greater recognition of minority rights. The Arab world however, particularly North Africa, seems to be an exception to this trend, as Arab states continue to promote highly unitary and homogenizing ideas of nationhood and state unity, whilst discouraging, or even forbidding, minority political mobilization. The central theoretical premise of this book is that North Africa is a multicultural region, where culture is inherently linked to politics, religion, gender, and society, and a place where democracy is gradually taking root despite many political and economic hurdles. Addressing the lacuna in literature on this issue, this book opens new avenues of thought and research on diversity, linking policy based on cultural difference to democratic culture and to social justice. Multiculturalism and Democracy in North Africa will be of use to students and researchers with an interest in Sociology, Cultural Studies, and Political Science more broadly.

Hunter-Gatherers of the Congo Basin
Hunter-Gatherers of the Congo Basin

Author: Barry S. Hewlett

Publisher: Transaction Publishers

Published: 2014-05-23

Total Pages: 365

ISBN-13: 1412854121

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The forest foragers of the Congo Basin, known collectively as "Pygmies," are the largest and most diverse group of active hunter-gatherers remaining in the world. At least fifteen different ethno-linguistic groups exist in the Congo Basin with a total population of 250,000 to 350,000 individuals. Extensive knowledge about these groups has accumulated in the last forty years, but readers have been forced to piece together what is known from many sources. French, Japanese, American, and British researchers have conducted the majority of the research; each national research group has its own academic traditions, history, and publications. Here, leading academic authorities from diverse national traditions summarize recent research on forest hunter-gatherers. The volume explores the diversity and uniformity of Congo Basin hunter-gatherer life by providing detailed but accessible overviews of recent research. It represents the first book in over twenty-five years to provide a comprehensive and holistic overview of African forest hunter-gatherers. Chapters discuss the cultural variation in characteristic features of Congo Basin hunter-gatherer life, such as their yodeled polyphonic music, pronounced egalitarianism, multiple-child caregiving, and complex relations with neighboring farming groups. Other contributors address theoretical issues, such as why Pygmies are short, how tropical forest hunter-gatherers live without the carbohydrates they receive from neighboring farmers, and how hunter-gatherer children learn to share so extensively.