In Masculinity and Sexuality in Modern Mexico, historians and anthropologists explain how evolving notions of the meaning and practice of manhood have shaped Mexican history. In essays that range from Texas to Oaxaca and from the 1880s to the present, contributors write about file clerks and movie stars, wealthy world travelers and ordinary people whose adventures were confined to a bar in the middle of town. The Mexicans we meet in these essays lived out their identities through extraordinary events--committing terrible crimes, writing world-famous songs, and ruling the nation--but also in everyday activities like falling in love, raising families, getting dressed, and going to the movies. Thus, these essays in the history of masculinity connect the major topics of Mexican political history since 1880 to the history of daily life.
"Today choice is often taken to be a synonym for freedom. In much of the world, but especially in the United States, having both more occasions to make choices and more options to choose from are familiar political, personal, and economic goals. We are urged to consider our preferences and then to select from menus of options covering almost every element of our lives, including what to buy, where to live, whom to love, what profession to practice, and even what to believe. We like to think that when we determine our preferences among them, we are engaged in the business of self-realization. And yet, everybody from marketing gurus to psychologists to philosophers has also been warning us about the many negative consequences stemming from our obsession with individualized choice-making. Not only are we not very good at realizing our personal desires, but we are also overwhelmed with too many possibilities, anxious about what best to pick and seemingly unable to muster the same enthusiasm for collective decision making as we do for choices about ourselves. Further, our relentless focus on the responsibility for making good ones has stigmatized those without many options, mainly the poor. How did this happen? Drawing on sources as varied as novels, questionnaires, and restaurant menus, The Choice is Yours tells the long history of the invention of choice as the modern form of freedom. Sophia Rosenfeld pays particular attention to women and the halting emergence of feminism in order to demonstrate how choice was, from the start, stigmatized and turned into a horizon for liberty. Thus, this is also a story about constraints, from formal laws to social customs, that have always worked to limit choice-who gets to do it, when and how they do so, what the choices are-in ways that are often invisible and yet central to the role that choice plays in the modern world. Rosenfeld begins in the early modern Western world, with the contemporaneous invention of shopping as an activity focused on the selection of goods and of religious freedom, in addition to freedom of expression as a matter of being able to pick one's convictions. Moving into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, she explores choice in romantic life, choice in politics, and sciences of choice. She takes up the work of contemporary psychologists, economists, and other theorists and offers a new perspective on how to think about choice now-based on a new reading of the past. An epilogue centers on the rise of reproductive choice and its consequences since the 1970s. Ultimately, The Choice is Yours is an argument for the necessity of rethinking the meaning of choice today, including its promise and its limitations, within the contours of modern liberalism"--
Presenting and interrogating an array of texts and discourses, this collection brings into focus a broad range of topics whose common denominator is the intersection between cultural productions and politics in different moments of the history of Latin America and Spain. From the struggles of class distinction, identity and community in 19th and 20th century and contemporary Latin America as explored in photography, literature and film, to how political and sexual transgressions from medieval times to the present are portrayed in Hispanic literature, and the ways that canonical and non-canonical texts in Spain have been defying hegemonic power relations in the 20th century and beyond. This volume provides fresh approaches from well-established scholars, as well as from a new generation of researchers whose works enlighten the reader about the rich facets of such intersections. This publication also offers a background to pursue further research in these areas and to serve the general public interested in Latin American and Spanish literary and cultural studies, and those seeking a greater understanding of social and economic change in both Latin America and Spain: specifically, issues of inclusion and citizenship; the constraints on state power in the neoliberal era; the strategies used by texts to create subjects that are not bound to conventional identity formations; and the challenges and possibilities of subverting the gaze of the institutional spectator.
How did men become the stars of the Mexican intellectual scene? Dude Lit examines the tricks of the trade and reveals that sometimes literary genius rests on privileges that men extend one another and that women permit. The makings of the “best” writers have to do with superficial aspects, like conformist wardrobes and unsmiling expressions, and more complex techniques, such as friendship networks, prizewinners who become judges, dropouts who become teachers, and the key tactic of being allowed to shift roles from rule maker (the civilizado) to rule breaker (the bárbaro). Certain writing habits also predict success, with the “high and hard” category reserved for men’s writing and even film directing. In both film and literature, critically respected artwork by men tends to rely on obscenity interpreted as originality, negative topics viewed as serious, and coolly inarticulate narratives about bullying understood as maximum literary achievement. To build the case regarding “rebellion as conformity,” Dude Lit contemplates a wide set of examples while always returning to three figures, each born some two decades apart from the immediate predecessor: Juan Rulfo (with Pedro Páramo), José Emilio Pacheco (with Las batallas en el desierto), and Guillermo Fadanelli (with Mis mujeres muertas, as well as the range of his publications). Why do we believe Mexican men are competent performers of the role of intellectual? Dude Lit answers this question through a creative intersection of sources. Drawing on interviews, archival materials, and critical readings, this provocative book changes the conversation on literature and gendered performance.
The only series for MYP 4 and 5 developed in cooperation with the International Baccalaureate (IB) Develop your skills to become an inquiring learner; ensure you navigate the MYP framework with confidence using a concept-driven and assessment-focused approach presented in global contexts. - Develop conceptual understanding with key MYP concepts and related concepts at the heart of each chapter. - Learn by asking questions with a statement of inquiry in each chapter. - Prepare for every aspect of assessment using support and tasks designed by experienced educators. - Understand how to extend your learning through research projects and interdisciplinary opportunities. This title is also available in two digital formats via Dynamic Learning. Find out more by clicking on the links at the top of the page.
Un becoming Modern: Colonialism, Modernity, Colonial Modernities explores the vital impact of the colonial pasts of India, Mexico, China, and even the United States on the processes through which these countries have become modern. The collection is unique as it brings together a range of disciplines and perspectives. The topics discussed include the Zapatista movement in southern Mexico, the image of the South in recent African-American literature, the theories of Andre Gunder Frank about the early modernization of Asian countries, and the contradictions of the colonial state in India.
Made in Latin America serves as a comprehensive introduction to the history, sociology, and musicology of contemporary Latin American popular music. Each essay, written by a leading scholar of Latin American music, covers the major figures, styles, and social contexts of popular music in Latin America and provides adequate context so readers understand why the figure or genre under discussion is of lasting significance. The book first presents a general description of the history and background of popular music, followed by essays organized into thematic sections: Theoretical Issues; Transnational Scenes; Local and National Scenes; Class, Identity, and Politics; and Gendered Scenes.
What makes a prodigy? Although child prodigies can be found in various disciplines such as music, mathematics, chess, and art, the origins of exceptional has long been controversial. Some have dismissed the notion of innate talent, arguing that prodigies benefit from strong parental, cultural, and environmental influences that helped them develop their extraordinary abilities. Others emphasize the role of genes supported by inborn predispositions. And what role do cognitive processes, from memory to the use of imagery and language, play in such rapid and early talent development? The notion of prodigy reaches to the heart of questions about creativity, intelligence, development, and the relationship between nature and nurture. This ground-breaking book presents the first scientific exploration of musical prodigies, bringing together research from psychology, neurobiology, genetics, education, musicology, and ethnomusicology, to provide a thorough exploration of prodigious talent. With fascinating case studies of prodigies and their often complex transitions into adolescence and adulthood, this is a unique investigation of a remarkable phenomenon, for anyone interested in child development, music, and the arts. --Cover.
